15:09 Virginia Crosbie (Ynys Môn) (Con)

It is the nuclear energy announcements in the Budget that will have the greatest long-term impact on the people and economy of Ynys Môn, and across the whole of north Wales. That point was highlighted when the Chancellor mentioned Ynys Môn in his speech. Earlier this month, I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, co-signed by 57 of my right hon. and hon. Friends, asking him to push ahead with Great British Nuclear, and to make new nuclear energy part of our green taxonomy. The steps the Chancellor took in the spring Budget underline the Government’s commitment to our long-term energy security and net zero. With energy independence and jobs in new nuclear, alongside renewable energy production, this country can become a more prosperous and balanced economy.

GBN means jobs and investment in areas that are calling out for them, including my constituency of Ynys Môn. I want good jobs for hard-working people—jobs that support Welsh communities—and nuclear can deliver that. Wales can be a centre of energy innovation. In the Budget, we learned of plans for a small modular reactor competition. There is already a long list of companies looking to Wales to house these game-changing stations, which will help decarbonise not only the power grid, but energy-intensive users in the heavy industry sector. We need these projects to come to Wales, but of course we need to attract investment.

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15:09 Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru)

Another key area that should be prioritised if we are to boost the Welsh economy is, of course, renewable energy. Others are far more informed than I am on this topic and could make contributions, so I will just say that we have considerable generation potential along the Welsh coastline in both marine renewables and offshore wind, and an opportunity to seize a first-mover advantage in technologies such as offshore floating wind and become a world leader in the manufacture of components, and in the export of skills and expertise into a growing global market.

Wales desperately needs an economic strategy capable of providing adequate funding for its public services, reducing poverty, improving incomes and ensuring that we realise our potential contribution to the global effort of tackling climate change—a strategy that, I am afraid to say, the spring Budget did not deliver.

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15:19 Christina Rees (Neath) (Ind)

The Minister will be aware of the global centre of rail excellence being developed in my Neath constituency, which will become the UK’s first net zero rail-testing facility. It will be a shared campus for rail innovation, research and development, testing and verification for main-line passenger and freight railways, developing next-generation solutions for the rail sector. The UK Government have pledged £30 million for the global centre of rail excellence, of which £20 million has been received for the construction phase. Will the Minister confirm when the remaining £10 million will be paid, so that the centre can be completed?

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15:45 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dr James Davies)

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out that the Government will provide up to £20 billion over the next two decades to support the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage. That is not something we have heard about today, but the HyNet cluster in north-east Wales and north-west England is already benefiting from our existing £1 billion commitment through the cluster sequencing programme. Decarbonising heavy industry is vital to driving economic growth and creating high-quality, sustainable jobs across the region, while helping us meet our climate commitments. The increased £20 billion ambition will further expand CCUS across industry, which will be vital for economic growth across Wales.

The Government are launching Great British Nuclear to address constraints in the nuclear market and support new nuclear builds as the Government work towards net zero.

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