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 implications for her policy on the building of a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C of the finding of the UN Economic and Social Council in the Report of the Implementation Committee on its thirty-fifth session, page 21, that the UK is in non-compliance with its obligations to examine the potential adverse transboundary impacts of an accident at any new nuclear plant constructed in the UK.

Compliance with international obligations is something we take very seriously. The proposed recommendations published by the Implementation Committee are still subject to adoption by the Meeting of the Parties to the Espoo Convention at their next meeting which is due to take place in June 2017.

We are confident that we have met the relevant international requirements in relation to Hinkley Point C, however we will consider the Implementation Committee’s report in advance of the meeting.