UK Nuclear Energy Programme

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

I am grateful for my right hon. Friend’s comments. Britain is working with a significant number of like-minded member states that wish to develop their nuclear programmes. I believe that nuclear needs to be seen as a low-carbon technology in the European debate, because it will be critical to meeting our climate change objectives in the UK, Europe and the world. I recommend to him and to other right hon. and hon. Members the book by the chief scientist in my Department, “Sustainable Energy—Without the Hot Air”, which is this House would benefit from.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

Towards the end of the statement, the Secretary of State said that

“we need a revolution in home-grown energy generation”.

Given that the station is being built by the French and the Chinese, that was an interesting comment. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that British companies can build power stations?

[Mr Davey]

Earlier this year, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and I published an industrial strategy for the nuclear industry in the UK to do just that. On the home-grown point, the danger is that if we do not produce energy in this country, whether through nuclear or renewables, we will be increasingly dependent on imports of gas from the other side of the world. That would leave our economy vulnerable to the supply of that gas and to vulnerable wholesale gas prices, which could hit consumers badly. That is why we need more home-grown, low-carbon energy.