Speeches by Collinge.

“We keep being told that there is a lack of skilled workforce in the nuclear sector and that there is a concern that people will move from decommissioning into new generation, or will not move from new generation into decommissioning, because of the pay gaps and cultural aspects, to be honest. Do you think that regulato…”

“Does that cover the regulatory route as well?”

“I live in Heysham.”

“As we have talked about looking at smaller sites closer to urban areas, for example, as well as sites like Heysham, are there any other regulatory considerations that we should have as we move away from just having traditional nuclear sites towards a more dispersed network, hopefully, of SMRs and AMRs? What other regul…”

“Does that cover the regulatory route as well?”

“I want to move on to advanced technologies, and this is mainly for Gareth. Advanced modular reactors require uranium at a higher enrichment level than conventional reactors, and this is known as high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU. Given that the Government have an ambition to deliver a UK capability for HALEU by…”

“My question continues on the theme of proportionality. The UK nuclear sector is meant to operate under the “as low as reasonably practicable” principle, but we have heard evidence that the practicable bit sometimes gets a bit lost. I want to start on the environment with you, Andy. The Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce foun…”

“Finally, Paul and Andy, do we think regulators have the capability, expertise and resources to regulate these emerging technologies—SMRs and AMRs are new technologies—and can we do that in a proportionate and effective way?”

“That brings me nicely on to a question that I will put to Paul Fyfe first. Outside of this Committee, I have had conversations about the shutdown of two nuclear reactors in 2022, at the height of an energy crisis. I have also had conversations about how reactors like Heysham 1 and 2 in my constituency are assessed for …”

“I live in Heysham.”

“As we have talked about looking at smaller sites closer to urban areas, for example, as well as sites like Heysham, are there any other regulatory considerations that we should have as we move away from just having traditional nuclear sites towards a more dispersed network, hopefully, of SMRs and AMRs? What other regul…”

“—and this has been described as cost-effective and low-risk. Are there any trade-offs for UK sovereign capability and long-term independence with relying on an international partner, however solid the allyship?”

“Yes, I have a quick follow-up on the advanced nuclear framework. Is it clear what criteria the vendors and technologies will be assessed on under that framework? Is it clear to them what would be prioritised in the sifting of those technologies?”

“Mustafa, I want to talk about both safety and environmental risk. The public obviously have views about safety, risk and environmental benefits, and they do not necessarily have a huge amount of knowledge about the nuclear sector in particular. Are you concerned that reduction or changes to regulatory control could pot…”

“So essentially, we already have a problem or a thing that we need to do, and your view is that this does not materially add to it.”

“If it does turn out to be harder to deal with or costlier, where should the accountability for that lie?”

“I want to talk about decommissioning and waste. Over the lifetime of nuclear energy, we have seen the nature and type of waste change quite a lot, from the very problematic stuff at the beginning to a much better picture now for the defueling of, for instance, Heysham 1 and 2 in my constituency. I want to know whether …”

“We have heard evidence that quite a lot of waste already in the UK could be reused for various things; for instance plutonium could be used as a fuel in a mixed oxide reactor, and it could also be used in nuclear medicine or in space batteries for long-term space exploration. But the Government policy—certainly for plu…”

“Vanessa, do investors hold the view that we are in a good position for this to work? Obviously Government investment is one thing, but private investors are looking to make a profit.”

“Heysham is lovely.”