14:31 Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)

Beyond the local economy, our nuclear industry is also helping to forge the UK’s path towards achieving our net zero ambitions, having already produced the nuclear fuel that has powered the equivalent of 20 years’ energy consumption since 1946.

I am sure the hon. Gentleman shares my concerns that the UK had to fire up West Burton A yesterday, and that we are now 3% dependent on coal this year, at a time when the Government are talking about phasing out the use of coal for electricity generation by 2024. If we are to achieve our green credentials, particularly in the year of COP26, we have to look at all the options, and nuclear is inevitably among those options.

The vision for net zero looks to 2050, and to lose a key component in a low-carbon industry in the mid-2020s, at the start of our net zero journey, due to a short-term approach is incredibly counterproductive. In the long term, it is essential to have a holistic approach that incorporates as much UK involvement in new deals as possible. For example, Lancashire is already at the heart of SMR—small modular reactor—manufacturing in the UK, and that technology of the future creates huge export potential.

As mentioned, there are huge opportunities on the horizon, but without the go-ahead from the Government, they remain something for the future. Therefore, it is key that the Government affirm their backing for UK nuclear and approve proposals for new reactors. With the spending review coming up and COP26 rapidly approaching, I cannot think of a better time for them to do that than now. However, we cannot just think about Sizewell C, which will provide opportunities for Springfields to fulfil the required contracts; we also have to consider the future, over the next 60 years, of what reliable nuclear energy looks like.

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14:44 Mark Hendrick (Labour)

Nuclear power is one of the largest and most reliable sources of low-carbon energy and electricity in the UK. It has an essential role to play in the transition to net zero. The UK currently has only one new power station under construction. Without rapid progress, we will have what is referred to as a nuclear gap. The nuclear gap currently means that the UK’s only domestic nuclear fuel manufacturer, Springfields in Lancashire, is facing a very uncertain future. It was a pleasure to meet the trade unions on College Green today and discuss the problems that the industry faces. It was nice to see them and great that they are fighting for the industry in the way that they are.

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14:51 Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)

We rightly hear a lot about net-zero, green recovery and the levelling-up agenda—sometimes too much for my personal taste—but here in the Lancashire countryside is the living embodiment of those three agendas. I have always argued as an MP for more high-quality, high-skilled jobs on the Fylde coast, near my relatively deprived coastal town of Blackpool and Cleveleys. Here they are, just a few miles away, in the Lancashire countryside. There can be found the National Nuclear Laboratory and a clean fuels technology pod. The site trains many apprentices, as we have heard, including for firms in my constituency, such as Victrex.

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14:56 Jim Shannon (DUP)

My position has been solidified by the push, the correct push, for greener energy where possible, within the confines of the cost, which we cannot ignore either. I was reading in the press recently that, if you ask people whether they are in favour of green energy, the majority will answer, “Yes, we are.” When you tell them that supporting green energy may mean a 10% or 15% increase in their energy prices, all of a sudden what it means for people becomes much more real. It is important that we pursue green energy, but—it is a debate for another day, to be fair—we cannot ignore the implications of some of our decisions.

I recently read, in a briefing by EDF Energy, that nuclear is the only proven, reliable low-carbon electricity source and that it is vital to achieve our climate targets and create highly qualified jobs, mostly outside London, as part of the Government’s levelling-up agenda. I see some Members here who are very supportive—indeed, we are all supportive—of the levelling-up agenda, but we want to see what it will mean for our constituents. I would very much like to see Northern Ireland being part of the levelling-up agenda on this issue, as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland—as I always say, Mr Betts, better together. I know that the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) would wholly endorse that; I am surprised he has not said, “Hear, hear!” That is facetious, but he understands the circumstances. There are occasions when we can do better together, and this is one of them. We need to see similar investment and equality of spending across all of the regions of the United Kingdom, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well. I wish to see that happen.

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15:03 Chris Green (Bolton West) (Con)

With our ambitions for COP26 and our leadership in this area, we ought to be looking at those sources of power that can reduce carbon emissions. It is the Government’s agenda; it is the international agenda. Nuclear is a key part of that, but we have to think about the steps that we need to take to get there. There was a bit of controversy recently about coking coal being produced in Cumbria rather than being imported for the British steel industry. It is so important that we take the effective and right judgments, and not only for the short term for British industry. Whether it is the Minister or the wider Government, we have to reassure industry and the nuclear sector that we have a future here, and will not export our industry overseas and feel good about exporting our carbon emissions to countries that perhaps have slightly lower expectations and standards than we do.

Not only my hon. Friend but the team in Government and the COP 26 President have to have that ambition. We need to speak out more consistently. It is disappointing—I do not know how true it is—that the sense in Glasgow is that the nuclear industry is not being welcomed to participate in COP 26. It ought to be a key part of it. I hear the COP 26 President speak passionately on a regular basis about other forms of energy, but I do not hear the same passion about the nuclear industry. For the nuclear sector, for long-term investment, we need to hear far more about the British Government’s commitment to the sector—not just Springfields but the sector more widely—because that is what creates confidence. If people, whether from my constituency or more likely my neighbours’ constituencies of Fylde, Blackpool North and Cleveleys or even Preston, are to take up an apprenticeship, they must have confidence in the future. There are other companies—British Aerospace and others—that can take that talent, but Ministers need to give confidence to the next generation of engineers and scientists and other people coming through that this is a career for them.

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15:14 Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)

The mood music at the moment is encouraging. None the less, I understand that the 18 GW proposal at Sizewell C has not yet reached financial agreement. Anything the Minister can say on that would be welcome. Meanwhile, we have all been slightly sidetracked by the huge opportunities in renewable energy, not least offshore wind and the sector I have spent a lot of time on—marine energy. I encourage all hon. Members who are supporters of nuclear to look at what is being achieved by Orbital Marine Power off Orkney in the north of Scotland. It is a remarkable generation of marine energy. In a sense, all that complements what we can do with nuclear, because it opens another great opportunity, which is to generate hydrogen at or very close to our nuclear power stations. I would welcome it if the Minister commented on what progress we might make on that over the next two or three years.

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15:20 Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)

Even more important, we need to understand the cost and risks of nuclear energy and the state of the nuclear energy generation market. There are too many false narratives from the nuclear industry, though it is very successful at lobbying. Briefings from EDF argue that it is the only proven reliable low-carbon technology—many hon. Members have said that today—but, by way of an example, last year, Scotland generated 97% of the equivalent of its electricity demand from renewable energy.

That is what Macron said worked for France. In actual fact we are helping France by paying EDF, effectively helping to subsidise the French nuclear market, so that does not make sense to me. It is by the by. We will also have interconnectors coming from the EU, including France, that do not pay grid charges. In the north of Scotland Scottish renewable energies pay the grid charges, so French nuclear energy comes here at no charge, whereas Scottish renewables have to pay charges to connect the grid. The actual system is not thought through properly and that is why we need a much better strategic look at things.

The nuclear baseload argument is an outdated concept. That was confirmed by the former chief executive of the National Grid in 2015. Can the Minister confirm that taking these existing nuclear stations offline will not increase the risk of the lights going out? Moreover, going forward, a report by Good Energy and the Energy System Catapult has demonstrated that net zero can be achieved without the need for new nuclear. I suggest that the Minister needs to look at that.

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15:47 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)

I will start by reaffirming the strategic importance of maintaining our sovereign fuel manufacturing capability, as set out in the 2018 nuclear sector deal. As many hon. Members have said, the UK is a world leader in the nuclear fuel cycle, which is a testament to the highly skilled workforce currently employed at the Springfields and Capenhurst sites and in the wider UK supply chain. Maintaining and developing that skilled workforce will be critical to delivering our net zero ambitions. I welcome the Westinghouse launch of the clean energy technology park last year. Such commercial ventures support collaboration and low-carbon research. Development and business are central to the UK’s transition to net zero. I am aware of the short-term challenges facing the Springfields site as the UK’s advanced gas-cooled reactor fleet retires. However, as we look forward to the 2030s, I agree with my hon. Friend that the site could and should have a bright future. That leads me to the Government’s commitment to nuclear power.

The 2020 energy White Paper sets out our vision for the transformation of our energy system, continuing to break the dependency on fossil fuels and moving homes and businesses to clean energy solutions. We have not yet made the full transition away from coal, let alone decarbonised our energy system, but “The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution” highlighted the key role of nuclear power in delivering the deep decarbonisation of our electricity system alongside renewables and other technologies.

This is an exciting time for the nuclear industry. This Government are clear that nuclear has an important role to play in decarbonising the electricity system, and in meeting carbon budget 6 and net zero targets. In the energy White Paper and “The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution”, this Government committed to advancing large, small and advanced nuclear projects as part of our future low-carbon energy mix, heralding what my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde called a golden age of new nuclear across the regions and nations of the UK, thereby contributing to the levelling-up agenda.

Finally, I will reflect once more on the strategic importance of our sovereign fuel manufacturing capability and on the ability of the United Kingdom, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West reminded us, to provide cost-effective support to reduce our reliance on imports, which may have a bigger carbon footprint. This Government would like to see the UK continuing to pioneer nuclear technologies in the lead-up to net zero. Our success will be underpinned by the capacity of our civil nuclear supply chain, including fuel manufacture. We are already considering, along with operators, fuel producers and the research and development community, how best to meet the needs of future nuclear power stations, including the opportunities provided by small and advanced modular reactors.

The Government have made a clear commitment to nuclear as part of our future low-carbon energy mix. The UK’s success in achieving our net zero ambitions will be underpinned by the critical work carried out in the civil nuclear supply chain. We will continue to work with the nuclear industry to maintain our sovereign capability and the benefits that it brings for the local workforce and surrounding communities.

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