Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral Answer of 16 March 2016, Official Report, what part of the text of the agreement on Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant provides that there will be no payment by the Government unless the power station goes ahead and is built efficiently by EDF.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will make a final decision regarding Hinkley Point C once EDF have reached a Final Investment Decision. The terms of the contract will be published (with only the most commercially sensitive information removed) once it has been entered in to by the parties.
In October 2015, the Government laid a minute before Parliament setting out at a high level the terms of the agreement reached with EDF in respect of the Hinkley Point C power plant:
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received from the Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians on the effect of proposed changes to the budget for training expertise of the Construction Industry Training Board on the future of the construction industry.
Answered by Nick Boles
We have received no direct recent representations from the Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians. We continue to engage in discussions with the Industry Training Boards on the implications for the construction and engineering construction industry levies of the apprenticeship levy which will be introduced in April 2017.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Annex on a Comprehensive Franco-British Partnership on Civil Nuclear Energy, Franco-British Summit, dated 3 March 2016, if she will set out the evidential basis for the statement that civil nuclear energy helps to guarantee the UK's long-term energy independence and contributes to economic growth and the competitiveness of industries.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
New nuclear power is a vital part of our work to build a secure, affordable and clean energy system to keep the lights on in the decades ahead. Nuclear is the only proven low-carbon technology that can be deployed on a large scale in the UK and provides continuous supply. Building Hinkley Point C would have significant economic benefits compared to the most likely low-carbon technologies that could replace it, such as offshore wind or carbon capture & storage. EDF expect more than 60% of the £18bn value of construction work to go to UK based businesses, with future developers also seeking to at least match this.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Annex on a Comprehensive Franco-British Partnership on Civil Nuclear Energy, Franco-British Summit, on 3 March 2016, if she will publish the new key cooperation actions on Generation IV reactors which have been identified.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to an agreement at the 2014 UK - France Summit, the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have been progressing work to develop a joint roadmap for collaboration, to support the Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration (ASTRID) project. This work was noted in the text of the 2016 UK – France summit conclusions.
Development of this agreement and the progression of actions under the associated roadmap are a commercial matter between NNL and CEA, the details of which are subject to commercial confidentiality.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Annex on a Comprehensive Franco-British Partnership on Civil Nuclear Energy, Franco-British Summit, on 3 March 2016, if she will publish the internal review of the Hinkley Point C project's organisation.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The organisation of Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for EDF. In the UK it is for developers to fund, build and operate new nuclear power stations.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Annex on a Comprehensive Franco-British Partnership on Civil Nuclear Energy, Franco-British Summit, on 3 March 2016, what the basis is for the statement that major progress has been made in recent months with a view to confirming the project to build two EPR reactors on the Hinkley Point site.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The terms of the contractual documentation relating to Hinkley Point C (Contract for Difference, Secretary of State Investors Agreement, Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) and related Waste Transfer contracts) between the Government and EDF are in final form.
EDF and CGN have confirmed major investment in HPC and are working to rapidly conclude the detailed investment documentation.
The Final Investment Decision is a matter for EDF and we understand they will make this shortly.
In January we gave planning consent for the National Grid connection to Hinkley Point C.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 2.41, The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom's special status in a reformed European Union, what input UK environmental and energy safety regulators will have into the annual survey of burdens imposed on business at EU level.
Answered by Anna Soubry
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 02 March 2016 to Parliamentary Question UIN 28373.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assistance has been (a) asked for and (b) provided to Israel to assist in (i) emergency planning in the event of a radiological incident and (ii) radioactive waste management at the Dimona nuclear plant in Israel.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has not received any requests from, or provided assistance to, Israel on either emergency planning in the event of a radiological incident, or radioactive waste management at the Dimona nuclear plant.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 2.41 of the Government's paper, The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom's special status in a reformed European Union, published in February 2016, what contribution he expects UK environmental and energy safety regulators to make to the annual survey referred to.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The European Commission’s Annual Burden Survey will support the Commission’s Regulatory Fitness (REFIT) Programme of withdrawals, repeals and reviews of existing EU legislation.
Anyone, including UK environmental and energy safety regulators, can now submit comments about any area of EU legislation to the Commission’s ‘Lighten the Load – Have Your Say!’ website*. Suggestions received will be analysed by the Commission and may subsequently be put forward for action via the REFIT Programme. The Government will use the REFIT Programme and the Annual Burden Survey to ensure that the EU meets its commitments to simplify legislation, avoid over-regulation and reduce burdens on business.
* http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/democratic-change/better-regulation/feedback/index_en.htm
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for projects supported by State Aid agreements of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Government's view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed European Union.
As required by the EU Referendum Act 2015, the Government is committed to producing clear information, ahead of the Referendum, on: the outcome of the renegotiation, rights and obligations in European Union law, an assessment of alternatives to membership, and the process for leaving.