Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Conclusion 13
Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales
Published 3 May 2023
Paragraph 68
Addressed to Wales Office
Welsh Affairs Committee Nuclear energy in Wales All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The contribution of businesses based in Wales to current nuclear developments at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C demonstrates that, at least in part, the skills and supply chains for such projects are available in Wales. There should be investment in scaling up the Welsh nuclear supply chain to ensure that new nuclear projects in Wales employ the maximum local labour so that the local areas feel the benefits. If there is a new nuclear development in Wales, the UK Government should place a requirement on developers for a minimum level of local content during the project.
From: Welsh Affairs Committee, Third Report - Nuclear energy in Wales (HC 240), paragraph 68, 3 May 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 July 2023 (deadline 3 July 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government responds to the Committee's recommendations mainly by pointing to Great British Nuclear and a new National Policy Statement, while stating that "no decisions have been taken over which technologies future projects will proceed with, or at which sites".
- On Wylfa Newydd, it says any decision to sell the site is "a commercial decision for Hitachi", and that Great British Nuclear "will be working with Government on access to potential sites".
- It will develop a new National Policy Statement for new nuclear power stations beyond 2025, and "will consult later this year" on a policy for how new developments could be sited in future.
- On Great British Nuclear, its first priority is a competitive process to select Small Modular Reactor technologies, with "an ambition to assess and decide on the leading technologies by autumn". Development funding is "subject to future Spending Reviews".
- On local content, it says this is "a commercial decision for developers to make", while it "welcomes" companies supporting local regions.