Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much plutonium was imported annually since 2010, by country of origin.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We do not import civil separated plutonium to the UK. Historically, spent fuel has been imported from other countries for reprocessing, however the imports took place prior to 2010, and reprocessing stopped in the United Kingdom in 2022.
ONR publishes annual figures on the UK's separated plutonium inventory, including material held in the UK on behalf of overseas customers. The most recently published data can be found at the following link: https://www.onr.org.uk/publications/regulatory-reports/safeguards/annual-civil-plutonium-figures/2023-annual-figures-for-holdings-of-civil-unirradiated-plutonium/.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to increase domestic inventories of uranium.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The procurement of nuclear fuel, including uranium is a commercial matter for reactors operators. However, the Government does and will continue to work closely with operators and wider industry to ensure a secure and resilient supply for the UK fleet now and in the future.
There is a diverse and resilient global uranium supply and uranium deposits which are spread across the globe. The World Nuclear Association notes that the world’s known uranium resources increased by at least one-quarter in the last decade due to increased mineral exploration.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what timescales her Department uses to assess public investment in energy infrastructure in (a) oil and gas, (b) wind, (c) solar, (d) hydropower and (e) nuclear.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The costs and benefits of a proposal should be calculated over its entire lifetime. The Green Book states that an appraisal period of 60 years is a standard measure for infrastructure projects. However, it is customary for departments to discuss and agree a suitable appraisal period with the Treasury in advance, based on the lifetime of the proposal.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the specific growth regions for clean power are, broken down by (a) nuclear, (b) wind, and (c) solar.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s plan to deliver Clean Power by 2030 will deliver economic growth across the country supporting thousands of jobs and businesses. A full regional capacity breakdowns for solar, onshore wind and batteries is included in the ‘Clean Power 2030 Action Plan: A new era of clean electricity – connections reform annex’. Nuclear capacity included in the ‘Clean Power Capacity Range’ is expected to be delivered through some combination of Sizewell B, Heysham 2, Torness, and Hinkley Point C Reactor Unit 1.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the proportion of grid decarboinsation that will be achieved via reduced energy usage before 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government expects overall grid demand to rise by 2030 as we electrify transport, heating, industry, and other sectors. The Government has committed to funding energy efficiency improvements in existing building stock which will make heating homes cheaper and more efficient.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her oral contribution of 2 September 2024 in response to the question from the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich, Official Report, column 70, on what evidential basis she said that two-tier policing does not occur in England and Wales.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Schedule 4 of the Police Act 1996 requires all police constables to make a declaration that they will carry out their role with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality. This means that the police must, and do, enforce the law without fear or favour.
The use of police powers to maintain public order is an operational decision for the relevant force and how they choose to exercise those powers will depend on the circumstances of a particular incident.
The previous Home Secretary (the Rt Hon Member for Fareham and Waterlooville) was rightly dismissed from her position for suggesting otherwise.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much uranium was imported annually since 2010, by country of origin.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The procurement of nuclear fuel, including uranium and enrichment services, is a commercial matter for reactors operators. The Government works closely with these operators to ensure there is a secure and resilient supply for the UK fleet. Uranium enrichment facilities in the UK operate as service providers, enriching uranium that is provided to them by customers. The stockpiles of Uranium held by these companies are a commercial matter and therefore disclosure of these amounts would be at the discretion of these entities.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to increase domestic inventories of plutonium.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are no plans to increase the quantity of plutonium in the UK. The domestic inventory of plutonium has arisen from historic reprocessing of spent fuel from the UK and overseas energy utilities under commercial agreements. Reprocessing stopped in the UK in 2022.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has received recent representations from (a) energy-intensive manufacturing and (b) chemical industries on carbon pricing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ministers regularly engage with a variety of stakeholders.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25772 on Prison Service: Recruitment, whether prisons are obligated to (a) advertise positions for British nationals before foreign nationals and (b) hire British residents before overseas residents.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
HM Prison and Probation Service publishes vacancies across formal UK advertising boards and welcomes applications from people wishing to work in prisons in England and Wales. The hiring process is the same for both UK and non-UK nationals. Selection is on the basis of fair and open competition, in accordance with the legal requirement set out in the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
The Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs) govern eligibility for employment in the Civil Service on the grounds of nationality. All applicants applying to work in the Department must meet the CSNRs and other eligibility criterion published in job adverts.