Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what influence and by what means communities in the North West will have in decision making over how and who progresses the construction of the North West Coast Connection.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
As a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, the proposed North West Coast Connection (NWCC) will require development consent under the Planning Act 2008. This requires developers to carry out extensive consultation on their proposals including with local communities before any formal development consent application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. Local communities can also provide their views to the Planning Inspectorate during the examination of any formal application. Further information is available on the National Infrastructure Planning website:
https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/
The design and implementation of the proposed competitive regime for onshore transmission assets is properly a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. As part of Ofgem’s decision making process on whether to tender the NWCC project they have run an open consultation which has enabled stakeholders including local communities to put forward their views for consideration. If Ofgem decides to tender the project then this process will run in line with the rules ensuring fair and transparent procurement. It is important to note that regardless of who constructs and maintains an asset all network operators must be licenced by the regulator and are subject to strict controls to ensure safety, security and reliability.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the likely timescale of type approval of first modular nuclear technology.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Any nuclear reactor or facility proposed for deployment in the UK will be subject to robust and independent regulatory scrutiny.
Therefore, any small modular reactor (SMR) design proposed for construction would undergo safety, security and environmental design assessment. A reactor design would only be allowed to progress if the independent regulator was satisfied it was compliant with the UK’s stringent safety standards.
At Budget 2016, the Government committed to publishing a SMR delivery roadmap that will clarify the UK’s plan for addressing SMR related regulatory approvals, along with siting and skills issues.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her policy is on proposals for a tidal lagoon or barrage in the Lancaster and Morecambe area.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Government remains open to considering well-developed, privately funded tidal lagoon or barrage proposals across the UK’s bay and estuaries, including in the Lancaster and Morecambe area.
Any tidal range project would need to demonstrate strong evidence of value for money and affordable, economic benefits, energy saving and environmental impact mitigation before the Government could take a view on its potential.
On 10 February, the Government announced an independent review to assess the case for tidal lagoons and consider whether they could represent value for money for the consumer.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress she has made on the type approval of modular nuclear reactors.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Any nuclear reactor or facility proposed for deployment in the UK will be subject to robust and independent regulatory scrutiny.
Therefore, any small modular reactor design proposed for construction would undergo safety, security and environmental design assessment. A reactor design would only be allowed to progress if the independent regulator was satisfied it was compliant with the UK’s stringent safety standards.