Ynys Môn: Economy

Lord Ravensdale Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

The noble Lord, Lord Davies, raises an important point. The freeport bids for England are already in and an announcement is expected shortly. I know that the MP for Ynys Môn, Virginia Crosbie, has worked tirelessly with a group of qualified and interested local stakeholders to put together a bid for a freeport for Ynys Môn. This will be ready to go when we launch the competition for Wales, on which we will work together with the Welsh Government.

[Lord Ravensdale (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I declare my interests as in the register. The national thermal hydraulics facility is a key part of the nuclear sector deal and will bring jobs and investment to Anglesey, making the most of the strong nuclear skills that exist in the area. Can the Minister say what progress has been made with this facility and, importantly, how it will align with the testing requirements of the UK SMR programme?

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

The national thermal hydraulics facility is a key part of the nuclear sector deal and would indeed bring jobs and investment to Anglesey. The issue is very live at present. Collective and separate discussions are taking place between BEIS, the Welsh Government, the UKAEA, Rolls-Royce, whose SMR design is pivotal in this decision-making process, and the Menai Science Park, which would host the hydraulics centre. The technical needs of the Rolls-Royce SMR are being worked into a redesign of the proposed facility, but issues still remain over the height-planning restrictions, extra funding and future financing requirements of the facility. Perhaps all the parties can dig deep.