Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether (a) his Department or (b) Great British Nuclear is taking steps to amend the National Policy Statements to enable (i) small modular reactors and (ii) advanced nuclear technologies development.

The Government is developing a new nuclear National Policy Statement (NPS), which will cover the policy framework for deploying new nuclear power stations beyond 2025. As a first step towards developing the new nuclear NPS, we intend to consult before the end of the year on a proposed way forward for determining how new nuclear developments might be located, including the potential for deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and other advanced nuclear technologies.