Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the proposed EDF development of Sizewell C nuclear power station promotes and embeds widespread and ongoing community engagement beyond what is required during the planning process in the event he decides to approve the Development Consent Order for that development.

As part of his assessment of the Sizewell C application, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State may have to consider the extent of possible post-consent community engagement on a number of issues. Because of his quasi-judicial responsibility in respect of the decision on whether or not to grant development consent and, if he were to decide to grant consent, what form that consent would take, we cannot comment on the extent of measures which might be included in any consent that the Secretary of State might decide to grant.