Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect (1) to respond to, and (2) to implement the recommendations of, the Nuclear Regulatory Review 2025.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government endorses the report’s approach and accepts the principles of all recommendations it set out.
My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has issued a Strategic Steer which sets clear expectations for the civil, defence, and decommissioning nuclear sectors to accelerate safe and efficient delivery through proportionate regulation and stronger collaboration.
We will present a full implementation plan within three months, taking account of international obligations, national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to use public procurement for the Rolls-Royce small modular reactor programme to develop UK nuclear supply chain capability.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As announced on 13 November, the Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) small modular reactor (SMR) project will be sited at Wylfa on Anglesey in North Wales, supporting around 3,000 good jobs at peak construction and thousands more across the supply chain.
Subject to final government approvals and contract signature, the project will deploy Rolls-Royce SMR technology. Ahead of contract signature, it is not possible to comment on specific SMR components or supply chain, though GBE-N's ambition is to deliver over 70% UK content across the SMR fleet.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Great British Energy – Nuclear will be able to give preference to UK suppliers in public procurement processes.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As announced on 13 November, the Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) small modular reactor (SMR) project will be sited at Wylfa on Anglesey in North Wales, supporting around 3,000 good jobs at peak construction and thousands more across the supply chain.
Subject to final government approvals and contract signature, the project will deploy Rolls-Royce SMR technology. Ahead of contract signature, it is not possible to comment on specific SMR components or supply chain, though GBE-N's ambition is to deliver over 70% UK content across the SMR fleet.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government where the pressure vessel and turbines for the small modular reactors announced for Wylfa will be manufactured.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As announced on 13 November, the Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) small modular reactor (SMR) project will be sited at Wylfa on Anglesey in North Wales, supporting around 3,000 good jobs at peak construction and thousands more across the supply chain.
Subject to final government approvals and contract signature, the project will deploy Rolls-Royce SMR technology. Ahead of contract signature, it is not possible to comment on specific SMR components or supply chain, though GBE-N's ambition is to deliver over 70% UK content across the SMR fleet.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government which components of the supply chain for nuclear power stations will be manufactured in the UK, and which components will be brought in from abroad.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The use of components manufactured in the UK will differ on a project-by-project basis. However, the building of nuclear power stations creates significant opportunities for UK companies, with EDF estimating that the current Hinkley Point C project spends 64% of construction value with British businesses. Sizewell C Ltd plan to award 70% of construction value to UK businesses, while separately Great British Energy – Nuclear’s ambition is to deliver 70% UK content across the small modular reactor fleet.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of domestic heat pumps sold in the UK last year; how many of those were produced in the UK; and how many were imported, and from which countries.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Heat Pump Association estimates that over 98,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK in 2024. The majority of these will be for domestic use. https://www.heatpumps.org.uk/resources/statistics/
Research commissioned by the Government in 2020 found that around two thirds of heat pumps installed in the UK were imported, the majority from the European Union
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-pump-manufacturing-supply-chain-research-project
The Government is supporting domestic heat pump production through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, which provides grants to manufacturers to expand, repurpose, or build facilities, to help strengthen the UK supply chain and attract investment.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of solar panels imported into the UK last year, and from which countries these solar panels were imported.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department has not estimated the number of solar panels imported into the UK, however HMRC publishes the mass of solar panels imported on its data portal at www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 30 April (HL6622), whether any other Department holds the figures of the number of certified nuclear welders in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
The Government does not hold the figure on the number of certified nuclear welders in the UK.
Hinkley Point C has invested £24m in education, skills and employment, including £4m in the development of a Centre of Excellence for Welding at Bridgwater and Taunton College. HMG also continues to support UK nuclear skills through the industry led National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills, a collaborative effort between Government, industry, and academia, setting out targeted action to address the skills gap and secure the UK’s nuclear workforce. This includes the on-going development of a welding course as part of the Career Switchers project in the Nuclear Skills Plan. In addition, the Destination Nuclear national communications campaign has targeted people that could work in the sector’s critical skills areas, including welders.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many nuclear certified welders there are currently in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not produce their own figures on the number of welders in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants attended COP29 in Baku in November 2024.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
The full list of UK delegates who attended COP29 was 448 and was published by the UNFCCC, along with other country delegations. It can be found on the UNFCCC website. The number of UK delegates that attended COP28 was 674.