Speeches by Young.

“GBE-N has called for a clearer route to market for market-led nuclear projects. What should that route look like, and what role should the Government play in supporting it?”

“Looking at the wider question coming out of that, how do you judge? Some changes were made. How do you judge whether those changes are justified?”

“My next question to Vanessa is maybe redundant because I was going to ask about how the Government can ensure that developers outside formal competitions are not excluded from the emerging nuclear market, but it sounds like the way things are developing, that will not really be an issue. Would you agree?”

“Just looking back at the process that was gone through, do you think there would have been an argument for—as initially was considered—having two different technologies chosen to allow a competitive evaluation of different technologies? Or is there more advantage in going all in on one technology, from the overall UK e…”

“If we turn to part two, which sets out enabling conditions in regulation, planning skills and the supply chain, which of those currently poses the biggest risk to timing deployment, and what actions are needed to address that?”

“Do you see there being a role for future competitions in the nuclear space?”

“Let us move on to the siting choice. Given Wylfa is one of the UK’s strongest strategic sites for gigawatt-scale nuclear, was it right to select it for the UK’s first three Rolls-Royce SMRs rather than a large-scale reactor?”

“Given that Rolls-Royce is also looking at AMR, do you have any comments on this process, or is it something you have not considered yet?”

“What about the withdrawals by some competitors? Do you think there is anything to be learned from that?”

“Vanessa, do you have any perspective on that?”

“Do you think prioritising SMRs at Wylfa sends a message about the Government’s long-term strategy in prioritising SMRs over gigawatt scale?”

“Can you briefly summarise what those are, or give examples, maybe?”

“Obviously, no process is ever perfectly going to pick out the correct projects, but do you think there is any danger that it will prematurely rule out things that could have been?”

“Vanessa, the framework expects projects to be privately financed, but it does allow for revenue support or risk protection. How should the Government ensure that you have proper accountability for public and private investment?”

“Can I just ask you, what factors make a site ideal for AMR development? How do these differ, if at all, from the requirements for SMRs or large-scale nuclear?”

“Q6. Yate station is at the heart of the town’s industrial area and can be a gateway to the eastern end of the west innovation arc. Local rail users tell me they want it improved, businesses stress its importance for attracting a workforce, and in the wake of local manufacturing job losses, its redevelopment could be a …”

“Do you think there will be additional need if you are in a situation with only revenue support?”

“I would like to talk about the SMR design competition: what went well? What lessons can be learned? I would like to start with you, Alastair. Other than you winning, obviously, what went well for you in the process, from your perspective? What lessons can we learn, especially from the withdrawals by EDF, NuScale and We…”

“I want to talk about the Advanced Nuclear Framework. We have already touched on it, so do not feel you need to repeat points that you have already made. Vanessa, do you expect the Advanced Nuclear Framework to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, and if so, how?”

“Can you identify any particular parts of the process that caused the delays? I am also interested because prior to the decision, talking to people in the industry, there seemed to be a widespread assumption that you would probably win as the UK competitor. Why did it take so long?”