Nuclear Sector Deal

Debate between Bill Esterson and Sam Gyimah

Thursday 28th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

My hon. Friend, who has campaigned assiduously on this issue since she joined the House, makes a very good point around the commitment to increase the number of women working in the sector. That is a significant commitment, and one that we are determined to deliver on.

More generally, for Cumbria, a major component of the deal is support for lower-cost decommissioning using advanced manufacturing techniques, so Cumbria is set to benefit, as it is from Sellafield which, as my hon. Friend said, employs several thousand people and leads on some of the most complex decommissioning challenges.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the publication, albeit delayed, of a nuclear sector deal, but the Secretary of State really should be here to announce the deal, not least so that we can get some answers to the questions asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock), which we did not in the Minister’s previous response. Nuclear energy plays an important part in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and in delivering jobs and prosperity to the parts of the country that most need investment, not least my hon. Friend’s constituency. We very much welcome the 40% target of women working in the civil nuclear sector by 2030, but when is it going to be 50%?

This announcement is mostly a repackaging of existing policy. Of the headline £200 million, it seems that only £10 million is new Government funding, so will the Minister confirm the £56 million for R&D for advanced modular reactors and the £86 million for a national fusion technology platform, both announced last December, and the £32 million for an advanced manufacturing and construction programme, which was unveiled last month? Will he also confirm why there has been a considerable downgrade in the funding available for small modular reactors? In 2015, the then Chancellor said that £250 million would be allocated to small nuclear reactors. At the end of 2017, the Department said that £100 million would be allocated, and now it is just £56 million.

The Minister mentioned Wales, so will he take the opportunity to clarify the Government’s funding arrangements for the Wylfa plant in Anglesey? In the week when the Government have scrapped the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, it has become clear that different rules apply for different technologies. This announcement should have been made alongside a commitment to invest in tidal energy. Both are equally important. The Committee on Climate Change says today that the Government are failing to keep up with agreed targets on decarbonisation. With this week’s announcement to scrap the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, the expansion of airport capacity and the modesty of the nuclear sector deal, will he tell us how the Government are going to meet their climate change obligations?

[Mr Gyimah]

On the question of there being no new money here, that is not correct. The deal announced today has £20 million for advanced manufacturing, £10 million for supply chain support, £40 million for potential hydraulics facilities in north Wales and £32 million of industry money, and potentially more to come. That is new money. On the much broader question of tidal energy versus nuclear, to reiterate the arguments that have been made in the House already this week, the Swansea bay proposal would cost £1.3 billion to build but would have produced only 0.15% of the electricity we use each year—a capital cost that is more than three times as much per unit of electricity as Hinkley Point C. The same power generated by Swansea over 60 years would cost only £400 million for offshore wind, even at today’s prices. There are some people you can never please, but as my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland (Trudy Harrison) said, today is a good story for the nuclear industry, and I hope that Opposition Members join us in welcoming it.

Draft Land Registry Trading Fund (Extension and Amendment) Order 2018

Debate between Bill Esterson and Sam Gyimah

Monday 19th March 2018 General Committees

[Mr Gyimah]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for those questions. Having heard him speak in the House a number of times, I know of his usual scepticism about the private sector. My view, however, is that there are great organisations in both the public sector and the private sector; we need both to run our economy.

On the hon. Gentleman’s specific question about whether the draft order is part of a plan for privatisation, the 2016 autumn statement confirmed that:

“Following consultation the government has decided that HM Land Registry should focus on becoming a more digital data-driven registration business, and to do this will remain in the public sector.”

The Law Society welcomed that announcement. Its then chief executive, Catherine Dixon, said:

“This decision responds to the representations we, and other Land Registry users, made as to the risks of privatisation, and puts the public interests in this important institution first. We look forward to working with the Land Registry to assist it in delivering its ambitious modernisation plans.”

There is therefore no plan for privatisation, but it still makes sense to improve and modernise this fantastic organisation, which is why we need the draft order. As I mentioned in my earlier remarks, the Infrastructure Act gave the Land Registry powers to expand its operations, so consequential amendments to the trading fund are needed to take account of the additional revenues.

The hon. Gentleman asked a number of questions about the local land charges services and about implementation. The 1 March 2018 formal response to the consultation on local land charges rules marked a significant milestone and provides an exciting opportunity to modernise the service. In the first phase, the Land Registry is working with 26 local authorities in England to migrate their local land charges records to the national local land charges digital register service. It is also anticipated that the Land Registry will be able to launch a live service later this year for those 26 local authorities. With regard to how that will be implemented, the Land Registry is building the foundations for a national land charges register, which will happen over the coming year. It will be working with more than 30 local authorities in England to migrate local land charges records to a centralised digital register, which will launch in 2018-19, benefiting up to 125,000 home buyers.

The first phase of migration will establish the foundations for the national local land charges service and help the Land Registry better understand how it can make further migration of more local authorities’ land charges and how to do that more simply and faster, using data more effectively. In the meantime, local authorities are still expected to undertake activity to keep the register up to date.

The hon. Gentleman asked whether any powers have been extended to support the future privatisation of the Land Registry. The answer is simply no. I hope that satisfies him.

[Bill Esterson]

rose—

[Mr Gyimah]

Clearly not, so I will take an intervention.

[Bill Esterson]

I asked about the impact on staff numbers. I quoted figures indicating that there are 850 staff across England and Wales. How many staff does the Minister anticipate will be needed in the Land Registry, and what will be the impact on staff in local authorities? Will fees stay the same or change? Does he accept the figures in the Library briefing, which indicates that this measure will cost £48.5 million and generate £134 million of income?

[Mr Gyimah]

Of course, as I said, the trading fund will have to ensure that its income from fees covers its expenditure under normal operating conditions. The hon. Gentleman asks about the number of staff and what exactly will happen to them. As I wait for inspiration on that point, I will expand on some of the other points that he raised. Local authorities will receive a new burdens payment to assist with this migration so that they are not negatively affected financially, and we are working with new businesses to assess how it will be implemented. [Interruption.] The inspiration seems to have arrived just at the right moment. On average, there will be a reduction in the fee for consumers, and we do not expect this to impact on staff increases at all. I hope he is satisfied—

[Bill Esterson]

rose—

[Mr Gyimah]

Clearly not, so I will take another intervention.

[Bill Esterson]

I think I heard the Minister say that there will be an impact on local authority budgets because there will be an interim period during which there will be support. Is he saying that local authorities will have their budgets cut as a result of this move? Also, there are on average two to three affected staff in each local authority. Will they lose their jobs, or will they transfer to the Land Registry? It would be really helpful to know whether the Land Registry will take on additional staff or use existing staff, because 850 people’s livelihoods are at stake.