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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department is making in its assessment of the merits and development of small modular nuclear reactors.

Our landmark Nuclear Sector Deal announced up to £56m to support the development of advanced nuclear technologies, including small and advanced modular reactors. Of this, up to £44m is for the Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Feasibility and Development project. We have received all 8 feasibility studies for Phase 1 and are assessing these now. We aim to announce any contracts for the next phase in the Summer.

The Expert Finance Working Group on Small Reactors, which was set to advise Government on how small reactor projects could raise private investment in the UK, submitted its independent report to Government in August 2018. We are considering the report and its recommendations and will announce next steps in due course.

We are also considering a proposal from a UK Consortium led by Rolls-Royce that could result in a significant joint investment. We expect to make a decision on this in the Spring.