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 - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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 - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.
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 which generic design assessments Natural Resources Wales (1) has participated in, (2) is currently participating in, and (3) is expected to participate in.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has participated in several previous and current Generic Design Assessments (GDAs):
NRW participation in future GDA processes is a matter for discussion between Requesting Parties (RPs) and NRW.
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 they have provided any funding to the Welsh Government to support the participation of Natural Resources Wales in the generic design assessment process.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HMG has not provided any direct funding to the Welsh Government to support the participation of Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. Regulatory costs for GDAs are borne by the Requesting Party (RP) of the GDA.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what generic design assessments the Environment Agency are currently undertaking; and when they expect each of those assessments to be completed.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is currently carrying out two Generic Design Assessments (GDA). Holtec’s SMR 300 is currently undergoing a 2 step (Fundamental Assessment) GDA that is planned to be completed in March 2026. Rolls Royce SMR’s design is currently undergoing a full 3 step (Detailed Assessment) GDA. Rolls Royce SMR and the Environment Agency are targeting completing the GDA in 2027. We understand that Rolls-Royce SMR will provide further information to the public around the time of contract award by Great British Energy-Nuclear.
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 international regulatory harmonisation on the speed of delivery of civil nuclear projects in the UK.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
International cooperation and regulatory harmonisation have the potential to streamline deployment for nuclear energy deployment around the world and help achieve economies of scale.
The UK continues to explore opportunities for regulatory harmonisation in nuclear to speed up the deployment of new nuclear in the UK, demonstrated by the recent Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy, which builds on existing UK-US collaboration.
ONR as the UK’s independent regulator will need to be satisfied that any design to be deployed in the UK meets UK safety standards and complies with UK law.
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 finding in the Nuclear Regulatory Review 2025 that increasing complexity in the regulatory system has led to a relative decline in the UK's nuclear sector.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government endorses the report’s approach and accepts the principles of all recommendations it set out.
My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has also issued a Strategic Steer which sets clear expectations for the civil, defence, and decommissioning nuclear sectors to accelerate safe and efficient delivery through proportionate regulation and stronger collaboration.
We will present a full implementation plan within three months, taking account of international obligations, national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes.
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 they plan to implement the recommendations of the Nuclear Regulatory Review 2025.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government endorses the report’s approach and accepts the principles of all recommendations it set out.
My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has also issued a Strategic Steer which sets clear expectations for the civil, defence, and decommissioning nuclear sectors to accelerate safe and efficient delivery through proportionate regulation and stronger collaboration.
We will present a full implementation plan within three months, taking account of international obligations, national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes.
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 potential impact of revising the semi-urban population density criterion on the development of civil nuclear projects in the UK.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is recognised that there may be potential longer-term benefits for nuclear technologies to be deployed closer to denser populations, such as providing high-temperature heat to industrial plants or proximity to electricity transmission infrastructure.
Given the importance of new nuclear development and recent recommendations from the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, government will be reviewing the criterion following designation of the new nuclear planning framework.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to boost cross-border economic growth between England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Economic growth is the central mission of the government. We work closely with the Welsh Government to ensure that Wales, like all parts of the United Kingdom, plays a full part in this mission and benefits from our modern Industrial Strategy, with higher living standards delivered across the country.
As part of this mission, the government is investing in projects that will drive growth across Wales. Alongside rail commitments announced at the last Spending Review, we have recently announced that Anglesey in North Wales will pioneer the UK’s first small modular reactors at Wylfa, with £2.5 billion of UK Government funding. This represents the most significant industrial investment in North Wales in a generation. The project is expected to support up to 3,000 jobs at peak construction and provide power for up to three million homes. Alongside this announcement, we have designated a new AI Growth Zone at the Anglesey Freeport, as well as another in South Wales.