Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the flight hour limit is on Hawk T2 engines.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The engine life of the Rolls-Royce Adour 951 engine is currently limited to 1,700 flying hours due to safety limitations which were introduced following the discovery of damage affecting some engine components.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that in the competition to find the best modular reactor the support from agencies of the government of the United States and large US commercial enterprises for US designs will not place Rolls-Royce at a disadvantage.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The 2022 British Energy Security Strategy set out our ambition to deploy up to 24 Gigawatts of civil nuclear generation by 2050, around 25% of our projected 2050 electricity demand.
GBN is running an SMR technology selection process to select those technologies best able to facilitate Final Investment Decisions in the next Parliament and be operational by the mid-2030s.
In November 2021, Government announced £210m in new funding for Rolls-Royce SMR, awarded through the Low-Cost Nuclear challenge. This investment was to further develop SMR design and take it through the regulatory processes to assess suitability of potential deployment in the UK.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of risk of declining to adopt the Rolls-Royce reactor for the future of Britain’s nuclear industry.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is our ambition to deploy up to 24 Gigawatts of civil nuclear generation by 2050, around 25% of our projected 2050 electricity demand.
GBN is running an SMR technology selection process to select those technologies best able to facilitate Final Investment Decisions in the next Parliament and be operational by the mid-2030s.
Through the Advanced Nuclear Fund, 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 (GDA) process in March 2022, becoming the first SMR to begin UK nuclear regulation. In April 2023, the Rolls-Royce SMR progressed to Step 2 of GDA.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the design of the Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (RRSMR) was given a grant of £210m in the Low-Cost Nuclear award in 2021 and is one of six selected technologies, in the first phase of the Great British Nuclear Technology Selection Process aiming to identify technologies best able to reach a project Final Investment Decision by the end of 2029 and deliver projects in the mid-2030s.
In April 2022, the regulators began a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) looking at the safety, security, and environmental impact of the RRSMR reactor design. The regulators concluded in April 2023, that all required activities for Step 1 of the RRSMR GDA have been completed and progressed to Step 2.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 37 of the National Audit Office's report entitled The Equipment Plan 2023-2033, HC 315, published on 4 December 2023, what steps he is taking to improve the red rating from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority of the Core Production Capability.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) delivery confidence assessments reflect a judgement at a particular point in time. They do not represent the likelihood or not of successful delivery but are a representation of the level of risk and what further mitigation may be required in order to reduce such risk.
The red rating for the Core Production Capability programme reflects its ambitious timelines. The Department is working closely with Rolls-Royce Submarines to improve delivery confidence, including by increasing production rates and improving manufacturing resilience. The IPA has confirmed the ongoing actions are appropriate.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2023 to Question 1042, if he will provide a list of attendees at the 15 November meeting with industry partners.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The following organisations were represented at the 15 November 2023 Land Enterprise Working Group. Attendance is not set, with variation at each meeting based on the agenda and areas for intended discussion.
Ministry of Defence
4C Strategies
Adarga
ADS Group
Amazon
Babcock
BAE Systems
Boeing Defence
Briggs Equipment
Decision Analysis Services
Denchi Group
Elbit Systems UK
General Dynamics UK
Horstman
Jacobs
Jankel
KBR
KPMG
L3 Harris
Leonardo
Lockheed Martin UK
MBDA
Northrop Grumman
NP Aerospace
Oshkosh
Pearson Engineering
Plexus
QinetiQ
Raytheon
Rheinmettal
Ricardo
Rolls Royce
RUSI
Saab Group
Serco
Supacat
Thales
UKDSC
WFEL
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the new Department for Business and Trade.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The creation of the Department of Business and Trade means there is a single economic department at the heart of government with the levers to unleash the power of British businesses, reform regulation and unlock Brexit freedoms. Since its creation, the Department has already implemented the largest ever cash increase to the National Minimum Wage; we’ve signed a historic deal on CPTPP, our biggest trade deal since Brexit; and welcomed a momentous deal for Airbus and Rolls-Royce to provide new aircraft for Air India, which is worth billions of pounds to the UK.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding his Department has allocated for the (a) design and (b) construction of nuclear small modular reactors.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In 2020, the Government committed up to £385m to an Advanced Nuclear Fund. Of this £385m, the Government has awarded up to £210m to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design.
The Government has also set up Great British Nuclear (GBN) to drive delivery of new nuclear projects. GBN has launched a Technology Selection Process (TSP) to select the best SMR technologies. We will offer funding to support technology development and site-specific design; a close partnership with GBN, which will be ready and able to provide developer capability; and support in accessing sites. The total level of development funding will be subject to future Spending Reviews.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the (1) development, and (2) adoption, of electric aviation technologies in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The development and adoption of electric aircraft is considered within the government’s Jet Zero Strategy. On 20 July 2023, DfT published a Jet Zero Strategy One Year On document which highlights the progress and achievements that have been made since the launch of the Strategy, and the next steps to deliver net zero aviation by 2050.
As noted in the Jet Zero Strategy the government is investing a record £685 million over three years into R&D in the UK aerospace sector through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme. In February the Department for Business and Trade announced £113 million of co-investment with industry in three Rolls-Royce led projects on hydrogen and Vertical Aerospace work on battery-electric aircraft.
The government works with industry and academia through the Jet Zero Council to drive the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions. In 2022 a Delivery Group of the Council was established on Zero Emission Flight which considers electric aviation.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support the Global Combat Air Programme between the UK, Japan and Italy.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has a £10 billion budget to support the programme over the next ten years. We have invested £1 billion in R&D to develop the skills and technologies required, with a further £1 billion planned. This has been supported by an further significant investment from our core UK industry partners (BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK, MBDA UK). Together, we are delivering advanced industrial technologies including digital design and additive manufacturing facilities, as at BAE Systems' Factory of the Future in Lancashire, and recruiting people from across the country with specialist skills in areas such as software engineering.