Draft Justification Decision (Generation of Power by the RR SMR) Regulations 2026 Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Claire Young
Main Page: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)Department Debates - View all Claire Young's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Draft Justification Decision (Generation of Power by the RR SMR) Regulations 2026
Claire Young Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer.
The Liberal Democrats support the justification for the Rolls-Royce small modular reactor, or RR SMR, and the development of SMRs in general. We recognise their potential to strengthen energy security and reduce reliance on imported gas when they can provide a safe and cost-effective contribution to a decarbonised electricity system. We believe that the best way to cut bills is to invest in home grown clean power, creating well paid jobs across the UK, improving energy security and supporting economic growth. The development of the RR SMR will help towards that goal.
We support this statutory instrument and remain clear that the Government should prioritise accelerating renewable generation, electricity storage and emerging nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors, enabling a fleet approach, rather than deepening the UK’s reliance on large-scale, expensive and slow-to-deliver one-off nuclear projects.