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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the commencement of production of small modular reactors in the UK as soon as possible.

The Government has awarded up to £210m to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design. The Rolls-Royce SMR entered the Generic Design Assessment process in April becoming the first SMR to begin UK nuclear regulation.

The Government has also announced the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (FNEF) of up to £120m to support future nuclear projects, including SMRs, addressing barriers to entry.

The British Energy Security Strategy sets out the Government’s intention to take two Final Investment Decisions on new nuclear projects in the next parliament and to initiate a selection process for projects in 2023, including SMRs.