Source · Select Committees · Energy Security and Net Zero Committee
4th Report - The new National Policy Statement for nuclear energy generation
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee
HC 1212
Published 24 October 2025
Recommendations
7
Rejected
Strengthen EN-7 to limit Examining Authority information requests to essential planning and environmental impacts.
Recommendation
Language in section 2.4 presuming the effectiveness of regulatory regimes should be strengthened to state that the Examining Authority should require only such information as is reasonably necessary to assess planning and environmental impacts within the scope of this NPS. …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects strengthening the language, stating that the current EN-7 already balances the need for information with regulatory oversight and ensures unnecessary information is not sought.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
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17
Rejected
Publish a map of SUPDC test results for England and Wales, replacing H&SE consultation.
Recommendation
EN-7 should, for now, retain SUPDC to avoid delaying its designation, but should replace the requirement to consult the Health and Safety Executive with a published map showing SUPDC test results for all of England 26 and Wales at a …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to replace HSE consultation with a published map for SUPDC, explaining that the underlying data updates too frequently to make maps viable, and states they will keep the current HSE consultation requirement while remaining open to future alternatives.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
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18
Rejected
Commission ONR to develop proposals for a replacement methodology to SUPDC.
Recommendation
The Government should commission the Office for Nuclear Regulation to develop proposals for a replacement methodology to SUPDC. The ONR could consider the risks posed by different nuclear technologies, recognising that some novel technologies may pose greater or lesser risks …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects the idea of replacing SUPDC with REPPIR, arguing they are not equivalent and would waste resources. It commits to reviewing the EN-7 and Semi-Urban Population Density Criterion with the Office for Nuclear Regulation's help every five years.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
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Conclusions (1)
5
Conclusion
Rejected
If planning examinations stray too far into matters reserved to other regimes this will undermine those regulators. While the exhaustive drafting of the criteria in EN-7 may simply be intended to empower the Planning Inspectorate and the Secretary of State to consider a wide range of relevant factors, this overlooks …
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's assessment, arguing that the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) consenting regime properly assesses project viability in controlling land, and a finding of regulatory viability during planning must be probabilistic to be proportionate.