Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the safety record of Hitachi in relation to its nuclear power projects throughout the world.

Nuclear power is proven technology with modern reactors capable of producing safe and secure low carbon electricity. Any reactor deployed in the UK must meet the robust independent regulatory requirements which include early assessment of the safety, security and environmental impacts of reactor designs through the Generic Design Assessment (GDA), prior to any application for a site-specific statutory Nuclear Site Licence. This is a robust process taking several years to complete, which ensures that all aspects of new station design are thoroughly assessed prior to construction and operation.

Hitachi’s UK ABWR reactor completed GDA in December 2017 and full details of that assessment are available at www.onr.org.uk/new-reactors/uk-abwr/index.htm.