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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to build expertise in engineering and scientific capabilities for the nuclear industry.

The Government is working collaboratively with industry and skills bodies, including through the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG), to ensure the nuclear industry has access to the required engineering and science capabilities. The NSSG reports up to the Nuclear Industry Council which I co-chair, and Nuclear Industry Association Chair, John Hutton, which will be considering skills initiatives as a key pillar of the developing Industrial Strategy. The pipeline of future scientists and engineers needed for the sector is being strengthened through national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education as well as Government-backed skills initiatives such as the Apprenticeship Levy and the National College for Nuclear. The National College for Nuclear aims to train 7,000 people by 2020, with the first intake of students to begin in Autumn.