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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department made of Hitachi’s nuclear power safety record in advance of considering private sector involvement in the Wylfa nuclear project.

Nuclear power is proven technology with modern reactors capable of producing safe and secure low carbon electricity over many decades. Reactors 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 which ensures that all aspects of new station design are thoroughly assessed prior to construction and operation.

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