Contributions
1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)To be fair, I also listened carefully to Sizewell C’s evidence, and the company will be as aware as we are that this is an active negotiation. I was not in any way surprised that…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)I do not think the hon. Gentleman is correct. It is not fair to conclude that the evidence from Sizewell C was incorrect, or that it was ill-informed in any other way. This is an…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)I would say two things in response. First, Sizewell C may not feel it is appropriate to comment on the deployment of taxpayers’ money. Secondly, I know from long experience of…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. Of course, the final investment decision has not yet been taken on Sizewell C. All the relevant parts of the NSI Act will be in…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. Looking at the amendments, amendment 2 states that “the nuclear company is not wholly or in part owned by a foreign power” and…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)As I have made clear, we think that the Bill adequately addresses these issues, particularly in combination with the National Security and Investment Act, so I do not see it as…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)The hon. Member is correct that this is about future nuclear projects, but I stress two things. The original question from the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich was about the…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)I think we have already had the debate, but I will say briefly that the clause defines the key terms referred to in part 1 of the Bill. Subsection (2) defines a “nuclear company”…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)I am speaking in a general sense about nuclear being a proven technology, deployed at scale. That has been the case since 1957 or ’56, with the very first nuclear power plant in…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)I will speak for a little longer than I might ordinarily do, because this is an important question of consumer protection. I will try to deal with all the points raised by the…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)I thank the hon. Member for his contribution. The Government are satisfied that the amount of information included in the Bill is sufficient. Far be it from me to suggest that…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for moving his amendment. It is important that we consider that the scenario is remote; before allowing any project to have a RAB, we will obviously…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)Clause 7 provides the Secretary of State with the power to modify the allowed revenue of a relevant nuclear company where that is required to complete the construction of the…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)The financing cap will be set out at the beginning of the project by the Secretary of State. It will be available to be scrutinised. The purpose of the power in the clause relates…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)Amendment 13 addresses how soon the Secretary of State should be obliged to publish the details of any modification made under the relevant powers, as already referred to. We…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)Briefly, clauses 9 to 14 lay out pretty clearly the direction of travel. No amendments have been tabled, so I assume there is contentment across the Committee with the clauses as…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Third sitting)I will write to the hon. Gentleman on that specific issue, perhaps this afternoon. I need to check whether Sizewell C has such a licence. I will get back to him. Those steps in…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)Clause 4 sets out the circumstances in which the designation of a nuclear company would expire. As set out in subsections (1) and (2) of the clause, the designation of a nuclear…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)Clause 5 provides the Secretary of State with the power to revoke the designation of a nuclear company and sets out the applicable circumstances and procedure for doing so, as…18 Nov 2021HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) Bill (Fourth sitting)As the hon. Gentleman says, this amendment addresses the process for modifying a designated nuclear company’s licence, particularly which documents should be published before the…18 Nov 2021