Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill

Will the Minister give way?

Of course I will give way. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman could explain why the SNP is so resolutely ...

I will do so later, but the Minister knows nuclear waste is a key issue. On proven technology wor...

The hon. Gentleman is right, and we are looking at that technology, but I stress what I just said...

Does that not mean much more nuclear is needed if it is the preferred means of backing up wind? T...

I have good news for my right hon. Friend, which is that the regulated asset base model that we a...

Further to the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood), Hinkle...

My hon. Friend makes a good case for supporting this Bill, which will allow the financing options...

Is not the problem with the Government’s proposals that the new financing model, which is very fa...

No, actually. In fact, the ability to add levies or extra payments on to bills is already in plac...

Will the Minister give way?

I will make a bit more progress.

The Chancellor’s spending review backs this commitment by ...

Will the Minister give way?

I will make a bit more progress.

However, it is clear that we need a new funding model to s...

rose—

I am going to make more progress.

But the lack of alternative funding models has led to the...

rose—

I am going to make some more progress.

This legislation will facilitate financing of additi...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman. Does he agree that since the advanced gas-cooled reactor progra...

I think the right hon. Gentleman is a supporter of the Bill and the approach being taken by the G...

rose—

Let me finish responding to the first intervention first. I was reading the 1997 Labour manifesto...

I actually came here in 2001, but I will leave that there. I have been a long-time supporter of n...

The right hon. Gentleman said he was first elected in 2001, but my guess is that he was a support...

Just to carry on the point about Labour’s involvement in this, I should point out that at his fin...

I, too, do not often agree with Tony Blair, but it was good to see his conversion in the end, alb...

Will the Minister give way?

No, I am going to make some progress. I have already given way to the hon. Gentleman.

The B...

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on this landmark Bill, which will help us to reach our net ze...

I visited my hon. Friend’s constituency with her two or three weeks ago—in fact, it was my first ...

When will I be able to get one of these little modular, Rolls-Royce reactors?

I think my right hon. Friend is referring to small modular reactors, the technology behind which ...

My understanding is that eight sites around the UK currently have planning permission for new nuc...

The Bill does not change the planning process, but it does change the investment case and the abi...

Will the Minister give way?

Will the Minister give way?

I am going to make a bit more progress. I have taken a lot of interventions, and the time for thi...

rose—

rose—

rose—

I will make a little more progress.

RAB is a tried and tested method that has successfully ...

Will the Minister give way?

I will make progress.

The RAB model could open up opportunities for British companies and o...

rose—

I will make more progress. I have taken a lot of interventions.

The legislation will also m...

rose—

I have given away enough.

Members will be reassured that a project starting construction in...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) because I hav...

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. We had many a good exchange at that stage, but I ...

As I have outlined, the Bill is about nuclear. Creating a more diverse potential finance base is ...

Will the Minister give way?

No, I am going to make more progress.

That saving equates to more than £10 a year for an av...

Will the Minister give way?

No; I am going to have to finish.

Members will know that the Scottish Government have a dif...

Labour believes that new nuclear has an important supporting role to play in the energy mix, alon...

The shadow Minister is very thoughtful on these matters. How much standby capacity does he think ...

Interestingly, the Climate Change Committee, which has looked into this matter in great depth, co...

Before the hon. Gentleman moves on from discussing the financing for Sizewell C, does he agree th...

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that the build cost and financing of a nuclear power station h...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the very considered manner in which he is presenting his case. Is ...

The hon. Member mentions tidal power. Of course, a regulated asset base system can be used for an...

I welcome the Government’s action to introduce the regulated asset base funding model for the fin...

The right hon. Member speaks of the baseload and the constant flow of energy from nuclear. Does h...

I believe that we do not have a choice. We must look at every form of renewable energy, nuclear e...

My right hon. Friend knows a lot about these things. What percentage of our energy does he estima...

That depends on the potential for innovation for the future. We have an energy crunch coming down...

I do not question the hon. Gentleman’s expertise or knowledge on this issue, but perhaps he can h...

That is a very important question. It is not just 2030 that I am concerned about, but 2025. Nucle...

Not for the first time I think I am going to express a minority view in the Chamber, but I am sur...

Just to correct the record, it does not at all mean I am not going to answer the hon. Gentleman’s...

I was so hopeful that I was getting an answer there on the hundreds of billions of pounds that ar...

Further to those costs, we know that the permanent safe disposal of radioactive waste from nuclea...

It will be no surprise to hear that I have no confidence that the true costs of nuclear waste dis...

I am a huge supporter of tidal energy, but is it not the case that nuclear, given its energy dens...

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman about nuclear being clean—oh, wait, apart from the rad...

The hon. Gentleman highlights the value of marine energy in Scotland and elsewhere; he and I are ...

I completely agree. I was happy to co-sign the cross-party letter from the all-party parliamentar...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene again. I am a big supporter of pumped hyd...

Absolutely. That is my point. This is about utilising spare energy and then filling the reservoir...

It is an honour to be called to speak in the debate and to follow the excellent speech from the h...

My hon. Friend is making some good points about the incredible efficiency of nuclear power operat...

I totally agree with my hon. Friend. We can take forward this model of heavy lifters, which is ho...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak in this debate.

If we did not al...

Does the hon. Lady not prefer France’s decarbonised electricity model to Germany’s model of ever-...

My remarks are about the UK power sector, but I take the hon. Gentleman’s point about Germany. Cl...

The hon. Lady is making a strong case against nuclear power. Is she aware that it was her own par...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I am fully aware of that; I just want to reitera...

The position that I think the hon. Lady is taking is that the Liberal Democrats believe that all ...

The current issue with renewables is one of storage, but the technology to address some of the pr...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney). It was interesting to...

That is exactly the point that Vulcain Engineering in Stroud has been explaining to me. We have a...

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. We need to secure those jobs and we need, as early as possi...

My hon. Friend rightly referred to the phrase “a fleet of nuclear power stations”. Of course, in ...

That is such an important point. I agree entirely that we already have the larger-scale nuclear r...

As I listen to discussions on the expansion of nuclear capability in this country, it slightly wo...

My hon. Friend makes a really important point. The physical security is one aspect, but the cyber...

On security, I presume that the hon. Gentleman shares my concerns about China General Nuclear bei...

I am concerned about the strategic national interest, but I think that most people at home would ...

On security, the Office for Nuclear Regulation is considered to be one of the best nuclear regula...

I agree entirely that there are huge challenges for the private sector to come up with the cash f...

It is an honour to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Chris Green). I speak wearin...

Does my hon. Friend share my concern that with nuclear we have existing established technologies ...

I absolutely agree. As I said, we have had nuclear for 70 years and we know that it works. The po...

The hon. Gentleman is talking about demonising nuclear, but is having a £132 billion waste legacy...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that point, which I was going to come to. Clearly nuclear ...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this important debate. I declare an inte...

It is a great pleasure to follow my right hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Alun Cair...

I am pleased to speak in support of this Bill, which facilitates the provision of a secure energy...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous), who is so erudit...

Diolch yn fawr.

6.12 pm

It is a pleasure to follow such a powerful, articulate, passionate speech, as I think everybody w...

We now come to the wind-ups, but the shadow Minister is slightly detained.

He’s gone to the loo, Mr Deputy Speaker.

He has, yes.

rose—

What do you want to say, Mr Goodwill? You have only just come in.

Well, I could say a few words if we have time. [Interruption.] Oh, he’s here now.

None the less, thank you for your consideration. Seamlessly, we now move on to the wind-ups. I ca...

My apologies, Mr Deputy Speaker; I thought that another contributor was waiting to speak before m...

As I pointed out earlier—and the hon. Gentleman is well aware of this—much of the existing nuclea...

I listened carefully, as I always do, to what the hon. Gentleman said in his speech. I think what...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will, but then I must make some progress.

Does the hon. Gentleman also appreciate that we may need to generate large amounts of hydrogen, o...

I think we will need a range of technologies. Let me return to a point that has been made by seve...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook), and I ...

Will the Minister give way?

No, I will not give way. I am under time pressure and I need to deal with all the points that hav...