Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential (a) economic and (b) industrial benefits to (a) Sheffield and (b) South Yorkshire of building innovative Small Modular Reactors using domestic supply chains.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to build the UK’s first small modular reactors (SMRs), subject to final government approvals and contract signature.
It is expected that an SMR project could power the equivalent of up to 3 million of today’s homes and support up to 3,000 jobs at peak construction.
Further details will follow in due course, but the government's long-term ambition is to bring forward one of Europe's first SMR fleets, with GBE-N's ambition being to deliver over 70% UK content across the fleet which could benefit communities right across the country.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to maximise the role of UK-based supply chains in the (a) development and (b) delivery of innovative Small Modular Reactor projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to build the UK’s first small modular reactors (SMRs), subject to final government approvals and contract signature.
It is expected that an SMR project could power the equivalent of up to 3 million of today’s homes and support up to 3,000 jobs at peak construction.
Further details will follow in due course, but the government's long-term ambition is to bring forward one of Europe's first SMR fleets, with GBE-N's ambition being to deliver over 70% UK content across the fleet which could benefit communities right across the country.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Penybont (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to fund advanced nuclear technologies through the generic design assessment process.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The costs of nuclear regulatory services, like Generic Design Assessment, are charged to companies in regulation. The Government part-funded 3 companies to undertake GDA for their Small Modular Reactor designs through the Low-Cost Nuclear Challenge and Future Nuclear Enabling Fund grant schemes. These are Rolls-Royce SMR, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Holtec Britain Ltd.
Looking forward, the government is providing a pathway for privately-led advanced nuclear projects. Great British Energy - Nuclear has been tasked with assessing proposals within a new framework, to be published shortly, with the National Wealth Fund exploring potential investment opportunities and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero exploring revenue support for viable projects.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) capacity, (b) capability and (c) competitiveness of the nuclear supply chain in the UK for the production of small modular reactors.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As the UK enters the new golden age of nuclear, the government will accelerate the growth of a robust and secure sector, collaborating across the supply chain to mitigate barriers to entry, develop policies that maximise domestic opportunities, and support access to international markets to drive exports.
Following a robust, two-year procurement process, Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to build the UK’s first small modular reactors, subject to final government approvals and contract signature. It is expected that an SMR project could support up to 3,000 skilled jobs.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of building the first British small modular reactor outside the UK on the UK manufacturing sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to deploy the UK's first SMRs, subject to final government approvals and contract signature.
Further details will follow in due course, but the government's long-term ambition is to bring forward one of Europe's first SMR fleets, with GBE-N's ambition being to deliver over 70% UK content across the fleet.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that British suppliers are used for Government-funded small modular reactors.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to deploy the UK's first SMRs, subject to final government approvals and contract signature.
Further details will follow in due course, but the government's long-term ambition is to bring forward one of Europe's first SMR fleets, with GBE-N's ambition being to deliver over 70% UK content across the fleet.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the timing of the construction of the first British-built small modular reactor on the UK’s manufacturing sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to deploy the UK's first SMRs, subject to final government approvals and contract signature.
Further details will follow in due course, but the government's long-term ambition is to bring forward one of Europe's first SMR fleets, with GBE-N's ambition being to deliver over 70% UK content across the fleet.
Asked by: Alan Gemmell (Labour - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the role of new nuclear in supporting a clean energy transition.
Answered by Ed Miliband - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Nuclear power will play a central role in our future clean power system, providing clean, homegrown baseload power to the grid. I am delighted that today we have announced £14.2bn of support for Sizewell C and that Rolls Royce are the winners of the SMR competition, and I look forward to laying this out in full to the House shortly.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Government to turbocharge defence innovation, published on 3 March 2025, which defence firms he met with at RAF Waddington.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The following companies attended the Defence Industrial Strategy and Growth Roundtable at RAF Waddington on 28 February 2025:
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Defence spent on research contracts and grants in (1) 2022–23, and (2) 2023–24; and what proportion of that spending went to UK universities.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) works to support a secure and prosperous United Kingdom (UK) through allies, industry and academia to ensure the UK has the right capabilities for defence and security. MOD records all contracts on its Contracting, Purchasing and Finance system. However, it is unable to distinguish which contracts cover research due to a lack of relevant metadata within this system.
In the time available, the following organisations within MOD have confirmed their spend (Extra-Mural Research) on research contracts and grants for the years 2022-2024:
Financial Year (FY)2022-23 Research Contracts
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) | £387.6 million | 4.7% |
Navy Command* | £80.06 million | 0.03% |
FY2022-23 Research Grants
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Dstl | £0.4 million | 100% |
FY2023-24 Research Contracts
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Dstl | £461.1 million | 4.8% |
Navy Command | £130.85 million | 1.3% |
FY2023-24 Research Grants
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Defence Science and Technology (DST) | £10 million | 100% |
FY2023-24 Research Grants
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
DNO (Rolls Royce) | £3.2 million | 100% |
* The figures provided include Navy Command spend delivered by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), £32 million in FY2022-23 and £70.03 million in FY2023-24.