Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

Lord Deben Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I understand my noble friend’s impatience. It is an impatience that I share, because we can all see the potential of small modular reactors in the UK and the export potential of UK companies that are involved in developing SMRs. With fairness to Great British Nuclear, it is going through a tough process. We will have assurance with regard to the technologies and value-for-money issues. Spring is not far away. I understand the haste with which my noble friend wishes us to act in this area.

[Lord Deben (Con)]

My Lords, the French Government have given this Government a great opportunity to stop any further growth of Sizewell C and use that money for small modular nuclear reactors. This is an out-of-date proposal. It will cost much more than we bargained for. It is a brave and sensible Government who would say, “We will stop that and move to new technology”.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, if a Government were suddenly to say to Sizewell C, “We’re not going ahead with it”, that would have a devastating impact on our nuclear industry. We are not going to do that. We are moving towards a final investment decision. I do not recognise some of the figures that have been quoted in the media recently. It is 80% replication of Hinkley Point C, but because of that, a lot of the risks have already been ironed out.

Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [HL]

Lord Deben Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 20th November 2024 Grand Committee

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

To conclude, I hope that I have been able to provide assurances on all these matters and I assure noble Lords that the Government have carefully considered—

[Lord Deben (Con)]

Before the noble Lord sits down, I am very much in favour of most of the Bill, but this bit is very difficult. I have been around a long time, and I have known Minister after Minister explain that things are too technical for us to have proper parliamentary scrutiny, and I heard it again today. The fact is that there is some real concern, even from those of us who are, in general terms, in favour—I hope it gets as near to parity with the rest of Europe, which is our biggest market—as we want to be sure that Parliament has a say, but I am not sure that the Minister has given us a very good answer. Saying that it is very technical is the oldest story that civil servants have given Ministers since we have had civil servants and Ministers.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for that. If it helps, I have gone through some of our 150-odd existing product safety regulations—not all of them—and their technical nature includes scientific calculation and all kinds of other technical input. Are we saying that we want this in every instance of primary legislation? I think not. If noble Lords think that we should have every technical aspect in all primary legislation, we need to have a different debate entirely, but for this, for technical reasons, we need delegated legislation to ensure that we update the regulations.