Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Gwyndod Project on civil nuclear employment in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) is continuing to drive forward Gwyndod, the UK’s first small modular reactor (SMR) project.
GBE-N and Rolls-Royce SMR entered contract earlier this year and are now undertaking design work to progress the Gwyndod SMR project on Anglesey in North Wales.
The project, which represents the most significant industrial investment in North Wales for a generation, will support up to 3,000 skilled jobs on site at peak construction, with thousands more across the supply chain.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the Nuclear Industry Association publication Jobs Map 2026, published on 15 September, what assessment they have made of the role of nuclear regulatory reform in maintaining the growth of civil nuclear employment across the UK over the next decade.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is taking forward all recommendations from the Nuclear Regulatory Review and published its Implementation Plan in March 2026. Regulatory reform is intended to support the timely and efficient delivery of nuclear projects, with a more effective regulatory framework helping to provide industry with greater certainty to invest in its workforce to deliver these projects.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the original estimated completion date was for the new 400kV double circuit Blackhillock-Peterhead project; and what the current estimated completion date is.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Transmission Owners (TOs) are licensed and regulated by Ofgem. While TOs are responsible for delivering transmission projects, Ofgem plays a key role in scrutinising delivery plans, setting the regulatory requirements and monitoring performance (including completion dates), against agreed outputs and milestones. Ofgem holds TOs accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades and can investigate potential non-compliance where delivery falls short of regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the original estimated completion date was for the Beauly-Denny 400kV uprating project; and what the current estimated completion date is.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Transmission Owners (TOs) are licensed and regulated by Ofgem. While TOs are responsible for delivering transmission projects, Ofgem plays a key role in scrutinising delivery plans, setting the regulatory requirements and monitoring performance (including completion dates), against agreed outputs and milestones. Ofgem holds TOs accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades and can investigate potential non-compliance where delivery falls short of regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the (1) original, and (2) current, estimated cost is of the East Coast Onshore 400kV Phase 2 project.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the original estimated completion date was for the East Coast Onshore 400kV Phase 2 project; and what the current estimated completion date is.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Transmission Owners (TOs) are licensed and regulated by Ofgem. While TOs are responsible for delivering transmission projects, Ofgem plays a key role in scrutinising delivery plans, setting the regulatory requirements and monitoring performance (including completion dates), against agreed outputs and milestones. Ofgem holds TOs accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades and can investigate potential non-compliance where delivery falls short of regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the (1) original, and (2) current, estimated cost is of the new 400kV double circuit Blackhillock-Peterhead project.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the (1) original, and (2) current, estimated cost is of the Beauly-Denny 400kV uprating project.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates are developed and maintained by the relevant Transmission Owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the generic design assessment process for advanced nuclear technologies is (1) faster, or (2) slower, and (a) more, or (b) less, costly, than for gigawatt-scale reactors.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham
The scope and schedule of a Generic Design Assessment is set by the Requesting Party. By far the biggest influences on schedule, and hence cost, are the maturity and stability of the design, and the quality and timeliness of the Requesting Party’s submissions. Prior engagement with the UK regulators, and access to relevant information and judgements from overseas regulators are other notable factors in determining schedule and cost.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what generic design assessments the Office for Nuclear Regulation are currently undertaking; and when they expect each of those assessments to be completed.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham
The ONR are currently undertaking two GDAs, step three of the Rolls Royce SMR and step two of the Holtec SMR-300. Publication of the completion dates for those processes is a matter for the regulators, including the ONR, and the Requesting Parties. These may be subject to change as the processes continue.
Further details on the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR) current and previous Generic Design Assessments (GDAs) can be found at https://www.onr.org.uk/generic-design-assessment/assessment-of-reactors.