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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to expand the nuclear energy sector.

The construction of Hinkley Point C in Somerset is well underway, employing thousands of workers and having already invested almost £1.7 billion in the regional economy.

In September 2020, the UK nuclear industry issued an update on progress towards the commitments and targets contained within the £200 million plus Nuclear Sector Deal. the industry also issued a report which set out how to cut the cost of new nuclear plants.

Building on the advanced nuclear spending commitments of the Nuclear Sector Deal, we have developed a package of funding now worth approximately £100 million, designed to turbocharge the UK’s advanced nuclear industry. This includes the initial £36 million received last year by the UK Small Modular Reactor consortium, led by Rolls-Royce, to further develop their design, as well as this year’s investment of £40 million in projects focused on developing advanced modular reactors and upskilling our world-class regulators.