Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Wednesday 19th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

As always, it is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown). Anyone listening to us can tell that we clearly come from the same part of the world.

The matter before us today is of great importance to my Fylde constituency. I begin by saying to those on the Treasury Bench that my vote today is very much conditional on what the Secretary of State has already said and on what the Prime Minister said to me at Prime Minister’s questions. The moratorium was a manifesto commitment that each and every Conservative Member stood on, campaigned on and was elected on, and it is no secret that I would much rather the moratorium remained in place.

The manifesto commitment said:

“We will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely.”

We in Fylde will not forget that fracking in our communities has twice led to national moratoriums. For people in Fylde, this is not a debate of what might happen; it is about not repeating events that have happened. Those events impacted on our countryside, our people, our homes and our communities.

I continue, as I always have, to take an evidence-based approach, but the geology has not changed; neither has the science. The industry has had more than a decade to show that fracking can be carried out safely in Fylde. Every time it has tried, the same thing has happened. We cannot keep doing the same thing, hoping for a different outcome. The 2019 seismic event proves that. The only conclusion I can reach from the evidence is that Fylde and its geology remain wholly unsuitable for fracking.

If this motion remains unamended, I simply cannot support it today. As someone with genuine concerns, I thank the Labour party for giving the House the opportunity to debate this critical issue, but I am afraid that the motion goes too far. Simply taking control of the Order Paper is not something I can support. Just as I opposed it during the Brexit votes, I am unwilling to reopen that Pandora’s box. Once we do that, where on earth does it end?

My only objective is to get the right outcome for the people of Fylde. I gently remind the Labour party that it was the last Labour Government who issued the fracking licences in Fylde. They issued those licences without the gold standard of regulation for which I fought for many years and secured. That includes the traffic light system and the seismic limit of 0.5, and the fracking industry signed up to both.

The 2.9 event in Preston New Road in August 2019 was 251 times more powerful than the industry’s own safety limit. In reply to me this afternoon, the Prime Minister mentioned that she will look at the regulations. Well, I urge her and the Government to ensure that any look at regulations has, at its heart, the desire to maintain a safe approach to seismic limits.

If the industry were to have its way and the limit were raised to 3.5—bearing in mind that Preston New Road was 2.9—the limit would be 1,000 times more powerful than the previous limit of 0.5 and four times more powerful than the August 2019 event that led to the second national moratorium.

My vote is based on the good faith that the Prime Minister has shown me and my constituents over recent weeks, and the promises that she made earlier in this House. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is very excited by the prospect of local compensation and incentives to local communities, but he should not confuse that with the thought that communities can be bought. The people of Fylde are not for sale and their principles are not up for auction. They will look at this on the facts and the safety merits first and foremost.

[Yasmin Qureshi]

The hon. Gentleman may not be aware but, when fracking was happening in Fylde, I went out there to protest against it. He talks about carrying the people, but Bolton South East and the whole north-west have been against fracking. The Secretary of State is listening, and I tell him that we in the north-west do not want fracking.

[Mark Menzies]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, and the point she makes is a powerful one that stands on its own.

In his letter, the Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government will launch a consultation next month to assess how local consent is to be gauged and has committed to put this vote to the House—I welcome that. I also welcome the fact that he has agreed today to ensure that there is, in effect, a local veto—or whatever words people wish to use for it—and that the voices of the people in Fylde will be listened to in a fair, transparent and independent way. I thank him for listening to them. It is not up to the fracking companies to determine whether local consent exists; an independent, transparent alternative to that must be found, and I thank those on the Treasury Bench for agreeing to it. May I also make it clear that it is important that the local planning process must remain in place and that we rule out any nationally significant infrastructure projects referral? If we are committed to localism, I can think of no more important issue than the one before the House today.

Ultimately, I am able to vote for the amendment because I believe that the people of Fylde share my conviction that the answer from our communities is no to fracking, and when they say no to fracking, I expect the Government to deliver and to hear that no does mean no.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that this is about not only seismic activity and local consent, but climate change, and that the Government should listen to the Climate Change Committee and produce a report about the climate impact of fracking?

[Mark Menzies]

The hon. Lady makes an important point.

On energy security, let me say that there is nobody more committed to it than myself; we manufacture all the nuclear fuel for the UK in my constituency, at Westinghouse. But in order to make up the shortfall of the amount of gas we import, we will be looking at drilling somewhere in the region of 6,000 to 10,000 wells. The quantities we are talking about are astronomical and the timescales involved mean we are not going to get gas into the network any time in the next two years. There is no infrastructure to get the gas from these wells into the grid. The alternative is building gas-fired power stations to turn this into electricity and feed it in through wires, but again the timescales involved simply do not exist. So the energy security argument, important though it is, does not even stack up in the timescales the Government are talking about.

In conclusion, I welcome the fair, transparent and meaningful consultation that both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State have committed to today. That gives the people of Fylde the opportunity to reject fracking and, more importantly, to have their voice heard.

[Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Home Secretary has been sacked or has resigned this afternoon—this is utter chaos. The Prime Minister appears to have appointed and sacked both a Chancellor and a Home Secretary, two of the great offices of state, in the space of six weeks. This is no way to run a Government. Have you had any indication from the Prime Minister that she will come to this House to answer questions arising from this?

The former Home Secretary, the right hon. and learned Member for Fareham (Suella Braverman), says in her resignation letter that she sent

“an official document…a draft Written Ministerial Statement about migration, due for publication”

from her personal email, and that this was against the rules. This raises huge questions about why a Home Secretary who was responsible for security was breaching basic rules. There are also rumours that in fact this statement on migration had not been agreed across the Government, there were major disagreements and that it had been blocked by the Chancellor. She also says in her letter that she has

“concerns about the direction of this government”

and the breaking of “key pledges”. She says very pointedly that they have made mistakes and that

“hoping things will magically come right is not serious politics.”

There is clearly huge chaos at the heart of the Government. Home affairs is far too important for this kind of chaos. This is about security, public safety and the issues covered by the great offices of state. Given that the Government seem to be imploding, we clearly need not simply a change of Home Secretary, but a change of Government. Can we get a new statement to this House?

Shale Gas Extraction

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

There is nothing Luddite about the people of Lancashire or Fylde. I want to say how disappointed I am that Parliament was not informed about this issue before the media was, and that as a local Member of Parliament, I was not given that courtesy, despite having requested information for two weeks by contacting the right hon. Gentleman via his Parliamentary Private Secretary. I have sent letters, I have sent WhatsApps—nothing back. Can we be crystal clear on one thing? At the Manchester hustings—this is a matter of public record and people can find the clip—the Prime Minister made it crystal clear, no ifs, no buts, no caveats, that fracking would take place in the United Kingdom only where there was local consent. That was crystal clear. If the Prime Minister is to remain a woman of her word, and a woman in whom we can believe—and I believe she is—will the Secretary of State outline how that local consent will be given and demonstrated in my constituency of Fylde?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend will have heard my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in her speech on energy on 8 September, saying that we were lifting the moratorium on fracking. I am surprised that he feels he was not informed, because that has been announced.

[Mark Menzies]

With local consent.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

We obviously want to work with local communities, and it is really important that companies that seek to extract shale gas come up with packages that make what they are proposing to do welcome to local communities. That is of fundamental importance and is what the Prime Minister has set out.

Shale Gas Production

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Tuesday 15th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

Let me outline at the start that this does affect my constituency, and I am disappointed that my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) did not have the courtesy to give me advance notice that he was going to be asking a question pertaining to my constituency.

These are not viable wells. Will the Minister just confirm that? The wells in 2012 that caused the first national moratorium were concreted over, with the blessing of Cuadrilla. The last thing it wanted to do at that point was frack again in those wells, so it dug 3 miles away. Both those wells have triggered the second national moratorium, so they are not viable wells. Will the Minister confirm that and stop this nonsense now?

[Greg Hands]

My hon. Friend illustrates well the point about the importance of keeping local community support if this were to happen. As stated in our manifesto, this was based on what local communities felt at that time. I do not think any local community felt it more strongly than my hon. Friend’s in Fylde. On the process, we have been clear that if Cuadrilla were to apply to the Oil and Gas Authority to extend that deadline, this would be considered by the OGA in the usual way. I repeat that the Secretary of State and I spoke to the OGA just this morning to confirm that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)]

5. What steps he is taking to deliver new nuclear power.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

7. What steps he is taking to deliver new nuclear power.

[The Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change (Greg Hands)]

The Government have announced a £120 million future nuclear enabling fund to support new nuclear and are aiming for a final investment decision on at least one more large-scale nuclear project in this Parliament, subject to value for money and relevant approvals.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Let us go to the constituency that Springfields is in. I call Mark Menzies.

[Mark Menzies]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Fracking has proven itself wholly unsuitable for the Fylde coast, with seismic events in Fylde twice forcing national moratoriums. Will my right hon. Friend assure my constituents and me that he agrees that to deal with the energy crisis, we need to look to technologies of the future such as next- generation nuclear, powered by Fylde-manufactured nuclear fuel?

Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Report stage & 3rd reading
Monday 10th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

I rise tonight to put on record my sincere thanks to the Secretary of State and to the Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands) for the support they have shown to Springfields nuclear fuels, which is located in my constituency. I did a Westminster Hall debate a few months ago to highlight the importance of Springfields. It is the only nuclear fuel manufacturer in the UK, and it contains some of the most highly skilled people in the world when it comes to nuclear fuel design and manufacture. Part of that site is also the National Nuclear Laboratory. This is integral to the future of UK energy security and the next generation in the UK nuclear story.

I really want to thank the Government for everything they are doing and continuing to do. I know how hard they are working to secure the future of that plant and its workforce and to ensure that Springfields has an incredibly important part to play in the future. Let us be in no doubt that those of us on the Government Benches have always been committed to nuclear. We have not always pushed it as far forward as I would have liked, but no one can doubt the efforts the Government are making to ensure that nuclear plays an incredibly important part in Britain’s industrial renaissance and in our low carbon journey. I will support this Bill on Third Reading.

Question put, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Tuesday 16th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Paul Bristow (Peterborough) (Con)]

12. What steps his Department is taking to increase nuclear power generation.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

16. What steps he is taking to deliver new nuclear power generation.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Hands)]

This Government are doubling down on our plan to deploy more home-grown, affordable clean energy in this country, and we are putting new nuclear at the heart of that plan. In the past four weeks alone, we have announced £1.7 billion allocated for a new large-scale nuclear power station, a new nuclear Bill to boost private capital and cut build costs, £210 million to back Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactor plan, and £120 million for future nuclear projects—new nuclear made and manufactured here in Britain.

[Greg Hands]

A previous question referred to Teesside as the centre of the green industrial revolution, but Peterborough is also one of the great centres in this country of the green industrial revolution, and there is no better champion of that than my hon. Friend, who is right at the centre of it. He is right that the £120 million nuclear innovation fund will create options for future nuclear capability, including the recent Rolls-Royce small modular reactors, which have £210 million of funding. There are plenty of opportunities there for his constituents to get into, and I thank him for his championing of the green industrial revolution.

[Mark Menzies]

I welcome the Government’s commitment to a new generation of nuclear power plants, representing a big step in our move towards net zero. Fylde, as the home of Springfields, the UK’s only civil nuclear manufacturing plant, will be playing its part in this transition, but following the recent announcements of the £210 million in new Government funding for Roll-Royce SMRs, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the fuel for the next generation of nuclear power will be manufactured in the UK, and in Lancashire?

[Greg Hands]

There is plenty of interest in Lancashire, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend knows that I am well aware of how important Springfields is. In fact, we had meetings in the Department about it, as it is the only civil nuclear fuel manufacturing plant, as he rightly points out. It will play an important role as we further develop our new nuclear capability. I am looking forward to working very closely with my hon. Friend, who is a consistent champion of nuclear in this country.

Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Tuesday 7th September 2021 Westminster Hall

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered continued nuclear fuel manufacturing in the UK.

It is a pleasure to move the motion under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I know that you are very passionate about manufacturing and skills, so I cannot think of a more appropriate person to be chairing today’s debate.

Springfields nuclear fuel manufacturing plant is located in my constituency of Fylde. It is not just a nuclear fuel manufacturing plant; it is the United Kingdom’s only nuclear fuel manufacturing plant, so by any definition that makes it a key UK strategic asset. That is a theme that I want to touch on later in my speech. Beyond that strategic importance, over 800 people are employed directly at Springfields, with employees hailing from the full breadth of the north-west’s nuclear arc, and with the wider supply chain employing countless thousands more. Indeed, Government estimates indicate that fuel fabrication facilities in the north-west support over 4,000 direct and indirect jobs, including roughly 400 people at Urenco in Capenhurst, who are likely to be impacted hard by any drop-off in demand at Springfields.

Among these employees, roughly a third of those who work on site began their career as apprentices, jumping at the chance of what were jobs for life, as 2,000 people have done since apprenticeship schemes started at Springfields 71 years ago. Among those was the current managing director, Brian Nixon. I hope that demonstrates that these are secure, well-paid jobs, of the kind that must be at the heart of the Government’s levelling-up agenda, particularly in a sector that has at its heart the north-west’s economy with its industrial base.

Beyond the local economy, our nuclear industry is also helping to forge the UK’s path towards achieving our net zero ambitions, having already produced the nuclear fuel that has powered the equivalent of 20 years’ energy consumption since 1946.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman shares my concerns that the UK had to fire up West Burton A yesterday, and that we are now 3% dependent on coal this year, at a time when the Government are talking about phasing out the use of coal for electricity generation by 2024. If we are to achieve our green credentials, particularly in the year of COP26, we have to look at all the options, and nuclear is inevitably among those options.

[Mark Menzies]

The right hon. Lady has made a very powerful point that I think everyone present would agree with. As we look to build towards that low-carbon future, with the backdrop of an ever more uncertain world, we must also strengthen our energy security. Sovereign manufacturing capability must be at the heart of that, particularly that of our sole civil nuclear fuel manufacturing site, which of course is Springfields. One lesson that the pandemic taught us is that when countries—including our closest allies—meet obstacles, they will seek to protect their own interests. It is simply inconceivable that in the thriving nuclear industry of the future, we may be reliant on overseas markets for the core parts of our reactor supply chain.

From an environmental perspective, it is also believed that existing uranium stocks could be enriched and used to make fuel. Existing stocks are sufficient to power Sizewell C throughout its lifetime, and Springfields Fuels Ltd has built an industry hub, working closely with bodies such as the National Nuclear Laboratory.

Let us look at the challenges. Although the future is full of promise for Springfields and the wider UK nuclear sector, significant and urgent challenges remain—namely, a short-term drop-off in fuel orders that risks causing redundancies and, more worryingly, the irreplaceable loss of skills. At the heart of this is the likelihood of early closure and uncertainty around Dungeness B, Hinkley B and Hunterston. With 70% of site income related to advanced gas-cooled reactor fuel manufacture, that uncertainty has seen a sudden drop-off in demand. Given the possibility that manufacturing on existing orders will end as early as 2023, this really is an urgent situation, and retrospective action cannot resolve the issue.

We are also waiting on decisions from the Government about the next generation of reactors—the small modular reactor fleet—with Sizewell C and other proposals still to be approved. Even with approval, construction will take several years, which means a lengthy gap until Springfields-manufactured fuel is in use. That ambiguity is causing delays in ownership-level decisions about the future, adding to the uncertainty, particularly among the workforce.

In the short term, to cope with the drop-off in demand, Springfields needs to find sources of income to support continued work and employment. To date, the redundancies have been voluntary, but that will likely not be the case going forward for employees, management and the unions. I pay tribute to Unite and Prospect for the incredible way in which they have engaged on a cross-party basis to represent the interests of their workforce. I have corresponded with constituents working on site, who have made their feelings clear. Some other opportunities in the wider nuclear sector are also proposed, such as decommissioning, but the site’s unique selling point is its ability to produce nuclear fuel, and that must be protected.

So what are the solutions? As the Minister knows, I come to this debate not with challenges but with key asks. First, it is important to say that this is not a company or a sector in decline. The need is just for support to help bridge the gap before the new technology comes into play and we usher in a golden age of new nuclear. There is a world-class skills base at the site, with plenty of opportunities on the horizon, particularly in the latter part of the decade. The Government need to take a long-term view of the industry. Given that no similar facility exists in the UK, those skills will be impossible to replace. Many of the people who have taken voluntary redundancy were there as apprentices, and the collective knowledge among those people really is quite something. To lose that is shocking.

The vision for net zero looks to 2050, and to lose a key component in a low-carbon industry in the mid-2020s, at the start of our net zero journey, due to a short-term approach is incredibly counterproductive. In the long term, it is essential to have a holistic approach that incorporates as much UK involvement in new deals as possible. For example, Lancashire is already at the heart of SMR—small modular reactor—manufacturing in the UK, and that technology of the future creates huge export potential.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way; he is being very generous with his time. Trawsfynydd in my constituency is widely recognised as one of the best sites, and the first of its kind, for SMR. I am sure he will welcome the Welsh Government’s appointment of Mike Tynan to Cwmni Egino, the company that will bring this forward. His point about the risk of losing skills relating to fuels and generation per se is critical. If the Government are serious about looking at nuclear among our options, we have to maintain those skills.

[Mark Menzies]

Indeed. If I may comment without embarrassing the right hon. Lady, she is a true champion of the workforce in her constituency, and she never misses an opportunity to make the case for investment in her area and champion that technology.

However, this new technology can be achieved only if the Government set out their vision for the UK’s future SMR fleet, including a regulatory framework and site proposals.

On SMR and AMR, I welcome the investment, particularly from the United States, but a way for investors to demonstrate their commitment is for them to promise to manufacture fuel in the United Kingdom. I strongly believe that a commitment to produce UK fuel for UK reactors must include all future UK projects and the possible transition of existing EDF contracts to Springfields. To achieve that, it would be a huge step forward if the Minister held meaningful discussions with EDF and US investors to work towards gaining such assurances on future contracts and to move some of the present contracts to the UK.

There are many ideas about the next phase, but one is that Framatome could manufacture at Springfields under licence, or that Westinghouse could manufacture Framatome fuel under licence, which would help to bridge the gap without a major renegotiation of EDF contracts. Indeed, having discussed this possibility—only yesterday, in fact—I know that EDF would be open to having a requirement for UK-manufactured fuel written in to contracts, as it works to solidify the long-term future of its key UK operations. EDF actually wants that clarity and certainty, which would go some way to securing Springfields.

As mentioned, there are huge opportunities on the horizon, but without the go-ahead from the Government, they remain something for the future. Therefore, it is key that the Government affirm their backing for UK nuclear and approve proposals for new reactors. With the spending review coming up and COP26 rapidly approaching, I cannot think of a better time for them to do that than now. However, we cannot just think about Sizewell C, which will provide opportunities for Springfields to fulfil the required contracts; we also have to consider the future, over the next 60 years, of what reliable nuclear energy looks like.

Support for other future opportunities, such as reprocessed uranium, is currently a growing area, and countries such as France rely on fuel imported from Russia. We are a neighbour and strategic partner of France, with a strong nuclear safety record, so with Government support and investment, this is something that Springfields has the expertise to commence work on in earnest.

To conclude, I cannot stress enough that, given the time-sensitive situation we find ourselves in, decisive action is needed at the earliest opportunity to protect this strategic national asset, and the Government must do whatever it takes to safeguard that asset’s future. Mr Betts, coming from Sheffield, you will know that Sheffield Forgemasters was regarded as a strategic national asset, and thank goodness action was taken to protect it. To stall further on nuclear would lead to irreplaceable skills being lost and facilities potentially closing. This is an industry with a great future, but it needs the certainty that Government support on investment and future projects can give.

The employees who I have discussed today are genuinely world-class; many of them are unique in this country in terms of what they do. However, they are ready to take on the new challenges that exist. Government must work with industry to guarantee that UK nuclear fuel will be produced in the UK, and give the go-ahead to the projects that will create those orders. If we do that in a timely way, both the workers and the plant would have a future, a national strategic asset would be protected, our journey towards low carbon would be a safe one, this country would achieve energy security, we would be able to export fuels, with the AMRs and SMRs, to many other countries around the world, and we would truly be heralding a golden era. I call upon the Government to seize this opportunity.

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

I think we have five hon. Members who want to catch my eye, which gives them about nine minutes each. I am not imposing a time limit, just giving guidance on how long to speak for.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab)]

We have had a good debate this afternoon, with some good contributions from hon. Members, on the subject of Springfields nuclear fuels. I congratulate the hon. Member for—

[Mark Menzies]

Fylde

[Dr Whitehead]

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing what is an important debate, not just for the future of the plant in his constituency, which we are talking about this afternoon, but for the wider question of our strategic future, when we look at the future of nuclear at all.

I do not want to be a party pooper, but this debate is about Springfields nuclear fuels. There is a lot I could say about all sorts of things, such as the role of hydrogen in the economy and whether, when the wind does not blow very well, other forms of thermal power may be needed. However, we need to concentrate our minds not on the future of our entire nuclear programme, but on Springfields nuclear fuels. What is unique about Springfields nuclear fuels is that it has single-handedly held up the entire UK nuclear programme for four or five decades now. It has provided pretty much all the fuel for the Magnox systems. It now provides the fuel for advanced gas-cooled reactors, and it should hopefully be able to provide the fuel for the new nuclear power stations coming on stream.

The role of fuel is usually unsung, but it is crucial to the whole process of nuclear power. There is a popular perception, which I am sure is not shared among hon. Members here, that using nuclear fuels means finding some uranium, enriching it a bit and sticking it in a pot to make the energy. That is very far from the truth. It is a highly skilled operation, requiring intensely developed engineering skills, which are involved in making the rods and the pellets, which must have the right specification and order for the particular form of nuclear reactor for which they are being made.

There is also a whole load of ancillary activities, some of which have been mentioned, such as the reprocessing of uranium to go back into the rods. That is another very highly skilled enterprise, far from the perception of this being a pretty simple journeyman activity that anyone can do. No, not anyone can do it. In the case of the UK, there is only one company that can do it—Springfields nuclear fuels. We need to see Springfields nuclear fuels not just as part of the nuclear landscape generally, but as a vital national strategically important component of whatever our nuclear programme was and whatever it will be.

It should be a cause of enormous alarm for hon. Members if there are suggestions that somehow this strategically important national asset will either be downgraded or lost in the not too distant future. There is a very real prospect of that because, as hon. Members have said, despite its crucial and honourable history backing up the nuclear industry in the way that it has, it is finding it difficult to get contracts for the continuation of its excellent production activities. I think there was some work recently for the Norwegian nuclear corporations, but there is a real gap in what is coming up—what we know will be an important requirement, particularly of Hinkley C and certainly of Sizewell C when they eventually come on stream. There is a substantial gap between that time and now. There is a real prospect, therefore, of that company—which is owned by Westinghouse, a private US company with no great feeling for UK national strategic interests—dying, not for lack of praise but for lack of an immediate future between new nuclear and modular nuclear reactors coming on and where we stand now.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mark Menzies]

I begin by thanking you, Mr Betts, for the way in which you have chaired today’s very important debate. I also thank colleagues on both sides of the House for the very constructive way in which they have contributed to today’s debate, particularly the hon. Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick), my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard), the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), my hon. Friends the Members for Bolton West (Chris Green) and for Gloucester (Richard Graham), and of course both Opposition spokespeople for their very important contributions.

I thank the Minister for her very thoughtful reply to today’s debate. There are many audiences who are listening. There are investors who are looking potentially to invest in the UK, and they will take some heart from what she has said. There is the workforce and the trade unions, which are concerned about their jobs, and they will have heard a clear commitment from the Minister and the Government to work in a constructive way to secure a future for Springfields and invest in the next generation of nuclear reactors, which obviously will be fuelled in the UK. There are also those who are involved in the nuclear working group, and of course EDF are key partners in that.

I encourage all parties to work, in the days and weeks ahead, in a constructive way, with one mission: what do we have to do to secure jobs and skills at Springfields, and what do we have to do to get key decisions taken in a timely way to secure that plant’s future and ensure that we have the bright nuclear future that all of us are confident that we can have?

Next week is nuclear week in Parliament, and there will be many events throughout the course of the week. We have got that off to a fabulous start today. We have certainly made the case for Springfields, but the work will continue.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered continued nuclear fuel manufacturing in the UK.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con) [V]]

Greetings from Lancashire, Mr Deputy Speaker.

May I begin by welcoming the Budget delivered by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer last week? I also particularly thank him for the support that he has given to the tourism and leisure sector throughout the pandemic.

In the three minutes that I have I shall first acknowledge the importance of infrastructure and the considerable investment that this Government and, indeed, the Government led by my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), have made in the north-west of England, and my constituency in particular. The M55 link road, the A585 Singleton bypass, the Preston western distributor road, the South Fylde line passing loop, £10 million for Kirkham town centre, a new school at Lytham St Annes High School—and the list goes on. So, to pretend that the Government and their predecessor did not invest in the north-west, were not committed to levelling up and did not have a plan for the future is, I am afraid, the result of reading Labour party press releases.

I shall focus attention on three things, briefly—first, the importance of enterprise zones in generating jobs and investment locally. Blackpool enterprise zone has been a huge success and we have about 1,200 jobs in the process of being created in what was an area of incredibly high unemployment and some of the most deprived communities anywhere in the United Kingdom; so those jobs are incredibly welcome. However, I would just encourage the Minister on the Front Bench, the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Gillian Keegan), who I believe also has responsibility for Lancashire, to make sure that enterprise zones do not, as a consequence of the development of freeports and some of the other strategies unveiled in the Budget, become the poor relation.

I would like to make sure, as the UK Government host COP 26, that nuclear fuel is front and centre, because in order for the United Kingdom to develop a radical decarbonisation strategy, it is very important not only that we are investing in small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors—documents for which are currently sat with the Treasury—but that we have the means to manufacture all the aspects within that, and in my constituency nuclear fuel is responsible for 900 jobs.

Finally, when it comes to aerospace, I have the head- quarters of BAE Systems in my constituency, employing just over 6,000 people. Team Tempest and the integrated review are incredibly important to us. They are the jobs of the future. It is the technology that has been referred to today. I encourage the Treasury to look to the future, invest in technology and continue to support the Fylde and the north-west.

UK Internal Market: White Paper

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

I completely understand that, as my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) and the hon. Gentleman have said, some businesses and individuals are facing real difficulties at this point. We have provided £160 billion-worth of support in the past few months and the Chancellor announced another £30 billion. I say to the hon. Gentleman that through the self-employed scheme we have supported about 2.6 million individuals, and of course businesses are able to get bounce-back loans, more than 1 million of which have been approved. Again, if he has individual cases to raise, I am happy to look at them.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con) [V]]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement on the internal market, but may I press him to ensure that the interests of small food producers, particularly those in Lancashire, are given equal weighting to all these additional powers that have been given to the Scottish Parliament, because we do not want any part of the United Kingdom to be left behind?

[Alok Sharma]

My hon. Friend is right to say that we do not want any part of the UK, or indeed any business across the UK, to be left behind, which is precisely why we have set out our proposals on mutual recognition and non-discrimination.

Nuclear Power: Toshiba

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Monday 12th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The first part of the hon. Gentleman’s question makes my point for me. The reason that Toshiba took the decision that it did was to restore robustness to the financing of the company following the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that Westinghouse went into. It has grasped that nettle. On the deployment of renewables, he will know that when it comes, for example, to wind in the remote islands of Scotland, I made sure that we were able to take that opportunity, and as a result, investment is going into those communities. [Interruption.] He says that it is small, but the performance of offshore wind is creating jobs all around Scotland and the United Kingdom and is a reflection of the commitment that this Government have given to it.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

This decision is not just about west Cumbria. Springfields nuclear fuel, which is based in my constituency and employs 1,200 people, was hoping to make the nuclear fuel for this plant, as the Secretary of State knows, because he visited it. What assurances can he give that workforce, and what measures are the Government taking to make sure that Springfields can make nuclear fuel for some of the other plants that he has outlined this afternoon?

[Greg Clark]

Springfields is very successful and has an active programme of supplying the nuclear industry generally. It will be one of the beneficiaries of the fact that we have restarted the build programme for civil nuclear power in this country. My hon. Friend knows that I will work closely with it and him to make sure that it can bid into those projects when they mature.