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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the likely timescale of type approval of first modular nuclear technology.

Any nuclear reactor or facility proposed for deployment in the UK will be subject to robust and independent regulatory scrutiny.

Therefore, any small modular reactor (SMR) design proposed for construction would undergo safety, security and environmental design assessment. A reactor design would only be allowed to progress if the independent regulator was satisfied it was compliant with the UK’s stringent safety standards.

At Budget 2016, the Government committed to publishing a SMR delivery roadmap that will clarify the UK’s plan for addressing SMR related regulatory approvals, along with siting and skills issues.