Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to ensure that young people in West Cumbria are equipped with the skills they need to access newly-created jobs in the nuclear and renewable energy sectors.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Government is working with the energy industry to maximise economic benefits from new electricity generation projects and is providing support to enhance the competitiveness of the supply chain, including improving the skills and employability of the construction workers in the industry.
In addition Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership has identified nuclear and energy excellence as a key priority contributing significant growth opportunities for the Cumbria economy. The Local Enterprise Partnership has strong ambitions to drive growth across the Cumbria area by improving the delivery of skills, infrastructure, environmental sustainability and business support.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that jobs created by the (a) new nuclear project at Moorside and (b) the Solway Firth Tidal Lagoon project are available to local people.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Government is working with the energy industry to maximise economic benefits from new electricity generation projects and is providing support to enhance the competitiveness of the supply chain, including improving the skills and employability of the construction workers in the industry.
In addition Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership has identified nuclear and energy excellence as a key priority contributing significant growth opportunities for the Cumbria economy. The Local Enterprise Partnership has strong ambitions to drive growth across the Cumbria area by improving the delivery of skills, infrastructure, environmental sustainability and business support.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the ability of the Government to reach the target set in 2012 of doubling exports to £1 trillion per annum by 2020.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Ministers have acknowledged that the £1 trillion target is a stretch; however, the Government has a clear strategy for increasing both the value of UK exports and the number of British exporters.
This is set out in the Government’s evidence to the BIS Select Committee inquiry into Exports and the Role of UK Trade & Investment. Progress in delivering against the target will be reported through the ONS.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on levels of exports of changes in the budget of UK Trade and Investment between 2015 and 2020.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Savings will broadly be delivered through implementing a new digital infrastructure to provide cost-effective access to export services; contractual efficiencies; and prioritising market and sector opportunities that will add most value to UK export levels. This is about being more efficient and delivering for UK businesses, including through enhancing direct support and developing the private sector market.
HM Treasury has recognised the importance of the exports agenda by agreeing that £175m of further proposed savings between 2016-17 and 2019-20 should be reinvested in priority areas. The Government is committed to driving a step-change in UK exports and the reinvestment secured to refocus UK Trade & Investment will help us deliver this.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the additional cost to the public purse will be of storage of additional spent fuel arising from the lifetime extension of nuclear reactors.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
EDF Energy has contracts with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for the management of AGR fuel. Under these contracts EDF Energy, not the public purse, pays the NDA for the storage of each tonne of AGR fuel that is loaded into the reactor, including for each tonne of fuel loaded during the lifetime extension of the AGR reactors.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether new storage facilities will be required at Sellafield to accommodate additional spent fuel arising from the life extension of nuclear reactors.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
No. The strategy of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is to complete the THORP reprocessing contracts it has with EDF Energy. In delivering the current strategy the NDA will have created sufficient space to receive and manage all the AGR fuel from EDF Energy’s AGR power stations, which avoids having to build additional storage capacity for AGR fuel.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what volume of additional spent fuel will be produced as a consequence of the life extension of nuclear reactors.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The additional amount of spent fuel arising from the recently announced lifetime extension of 4 AGR stations is anticipated to be in the range of 700-800 tU, based on the current rate of arisings of spent fuel from the AGR fleet.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the objectives are of the Sellafield workforce reform initiative; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a responsibility to UK tax payers to ensure that Sellafield Ltd has maximum opportunity for improved performance: accelerating hazard reduction and delivering value for money. A new model, part of a suite of changes designed to increase efficiency in the business, is being put in place to help achieve that. The rationale for this model is set out in the Sellafield Model Change (SMC) Outline Business Case.
Details of the change programme are available at http://www.nda.gov.uk/contracts-and-competition/sellafield-model-change-programme/.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the Sellafield workforce reform initiative on workforce salary expenditure by Sellafield Ltd in (a) Copeland, (b) Allerdale, (c) Barrow-in-Furness and (d) Cumbria.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
A new model, part of a suite of changes designed to increase efficiency in the business, is being put in place at Sellafield to increase efficiency in the business. The changes will have a positive impact on the Cumbrian economies, through encouraging supply chain companies to locate in the area as part of the Sellafield Change Programme.
Details of the change programme are available at http://www.nda.gov.uk/contracts-and-competition/sellafield-model-change-programme/.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the Sellafield workforce reform initiative on the economy of (a) Copeland, (b) Allerdale, (c) Barrow-in-Furness and (d) Cumbria.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
A new model, part of a suite of changes designed to increase efficiency in the business, is being put in place at Sellafield to increase efficiency in the business. The Sellafield Change Programme is deliberately focussed on developing the supply chain for Sellafield to maximise the positive impact on the community.
Details of the change programme are available at http://www.nda.gov.uk/contracts-and-competition/sellafield-model-change-programme/.