Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the announcement in the Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022 that the Government will invest £700 million in the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant, (a) whether he plans to allocate any additional public funds to that plant and (b) whether he expects that private finance will be required for that plant.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government aims to approve the pledged investment in Sizewell C this month, subject to final approvals for the investment. This funding would come from the up to £1.7bn of Government funding made available in the 2021 Spending Review for developing a large-scale nuclear project to final investment stage in this Parliament.
Final approvals and details surrounding this investment will be announced in due course. Details of the project’s potential financial structure are subject to ongoing, commercially sensitive negotiations.
The Government has established a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) funding model to attract private investment into new nuclear projects.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he will announce the investment decision on Sizewell C.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Autumn Statement on 17th November, the Government intends to proceed with developing a new nuclear power plant at Sizewell C, backing the project with £700 million.
The Government aims to reach a conclusion on negotiations this month, subject to final approvals for the investment. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the oral evidence given to the Science and Technology Committee on 2 November 2022, on Delivering Nuclear Power, HC 626, what stake the Government plans to take in Sizewell C nuclear power station.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government aims to conclude negotiations this month, subject to final approvals for the investment. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what size stake in the Sizewell C nuclear power station the Government expects to take as a result of the funding of up to £700 million it has announced for that project.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government aims to conclude negotiations this month, subject to final approvals for the investment. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy on the capacity of the A12 to accommodate potential construction traffic associated with the construction of Sizewell C nuclear power station.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The A12 road at Sizewell is the responsibility of the local highway authority, Suffolk County Council, but where it reaches Lowestoft to the north and Ipswich to the south it becomes the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport and is managed on his behalf by National Highways.
The current Secretaries of State for Transport and for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have not held discussions about the traffic impact of Sizewell C, however, National Highways worked with the promoter of Sizewell C and Suffolk County Council on traffic impacts to the A12 during construction and operation of the power station.
A Statement of Common Ground between the promoter and National Highways was agreed as part of the planning process for Sizewell C and is available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Suffolk County Council has submitted an Outline Business Case to the Department for improvements to the A12 east of Ipswich which is on the Major Road Network. If approved, this will add the capacity needed on this part of the A12 to accommodate construction traffic for the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station as well as supporting other planned growth in the area.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his policy to support the development of Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is in constructive ongoing negotiations on Sizewell C, with the aim of delivering a key objective of the British Energy Security Strategy, to take one large-scale nuclear project to a Final Investment Decision (FID) this Parliament, subject to value for money and all relevant approvals.
The Government has announced its intention to provide up to £700m of funding to the project, subject to the outcome of these negotiations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects the construction of Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station to be completed; if he will provide an update on the funding of that power station; and what recent discussions his Department has had about the construction of other new nuclear power stations.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is in commercial negotiations on Sizewell C, which are commercially sensitive. The Growth Plan 2022 states Government is targeting a Final Investment Decision for Sizewell C by the end of 2023, subject to all relevant approvals. The Government has also announced its intention to provide up to £700m of funding to the project, subject to the outcome of the current negotiations.
The Government has launched the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund and will set up Great British Nuclear to help develop projects beyond Sizewell C. Discussions with developers are commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the Government has permitted a significant proportion of investment in Sizewell C nuclear power station to come from foreign investors.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government welcomes investment into the UK’s nuclear sector and values the important role of overseas investors in large-scale infrastructure projects. The Regulated Asset Base model will help attract the significant investment needed from UK and international pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors, reducing reliance on overseas developers for finance which led to the cancellation of potential projects. Investment involving critical nuclear infrastructure needs to satisfy our robust national security, and other legal and regulatory requirements.
The Government has also declared its preparedness to invest directly in the Sizewell C project, subject to ongoing negotiations and all relevant approvals.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the (a) service and (b) shareholding stakes procured in the NNB Holding Company for the development of Sizewell C power station from the £700 million announced by the Prime Minister on 1 September 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Sizewell C Project could play an important role in our ambitions for nuclear new build and delivery of energy security and, subject to the outcome of negotiations, the Government is prepared to invest up to £700m at this stage in its development. Negotiations over the Project are ongoing and are commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which minister from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will be making the decision as to whether Sizewell C will be granted a Development Consent Order.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The decision on the application for development consent for Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station was announced on 20 July 2022. The then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Paul Scully took the decision on behalf of the Secretary of State who had confirmed that his delegation of the decision-making powers to Minister Scully in respect of the Sizewell C application should continue, notwithstanding Minister Scully’s move to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.