Speeches by Downie.

“I have a couple of wider points around physical and cyber-security. What lessons have you learned so far from attacks or concerns in both Ukraine and Iran around nuclear infrastructure? What is the Department doing to protect the UK in the future?”

“I can hear Sir Humphrey telling you, “On the one hand, and on the other hand”.”

“I would be quite keen to know if you have more information on that. Again, the concern is not so much just at the top-level supply chain but the soft underbellies that appear down the line, which is where we could be more vulnerable, so I would appreciate any additional information you are able to share on that. We hav…”

“How was it not appropriate before?”

“This is possibly a question for Simon as well. If we are losing staff from the NNL, how can that be picked up by GB Energy - Nuclear to make sure those skills are not lost from the sector? Again, we have had a discussion about how we do not have enough nuclear skills in defence and in civil. We are about to have 200 pe…”

“Can I just pick up on that approach about future fleets and technologies? Is the GDA set up correctly to deal with SMRs and AMRs? You mentioned the Rolls-Royce project, but is it currently set up properly to deal with both SMRs and AMRs? If not, what more needs to be done to make sure that is in place?”

“Linked to some of the questions Lizzi asked earlier, do you think you have the right skills, particularly in the Environment Agency and elsewhere, to meet the targets you are talking about for the GDAs, and particularly thinking about new technologies?”

“—but you end up having people in the organisation who are not the ones you want. How exactly are you guarding against that?”

“What are the measures? What can you do to make sure vendors are treating the process properly and not as a vehicle for investment decisions for FDI? That question is for whoever feels best able to answer it.”

“Another thing to pick up on—”

“You mentioned the multi-year spending review. Why were you not successful in gaining the support you expected or would have wanted, keeping in mind that the UK Government have said that nuclear should be one of their top priorities?”

“We will come back to that. I want to explore it in a bit more detail in a second.”

“You mentioned that you have brought the timescale down from four years to two. What is a reasonable target? Where do you want to get it to?”

“Did you get feedback from DESNZ or the Treasury about how your spending review submission maybe was not quite there? How has that been improved upon to make sure that you can secure the funding you need in the future?”

“There has been communication on that?”

“You talk about this as a short-term measure. How do we make sure that these skills are not being lost at a time when we need them? I will possibly ask Simon to contribute here as well. How are we making sure there is a connection between GBE-N and the NNL on how those skills are not lost? You say it is short-term. Is i…”

“You have 200 redundancies and you think you will want to rehire those people in six months?”

“We have heard in previous sessions, as well as today, about the importance of nuclear skills, and about the shortages across some areas. Gareth, with that in mind, why is UKNNL seeking to cut 200 jobs? What impact is that likely to have on the Government’s ability to deliver their nuclear pathway?”

“Is it your view—and you mentioned this earlier—that you are losing capability that you would naturally have lost anyway, or naturally wanted to lose anyway, because it was based on older technology and, six months in the future, you will be hiring people who can do the next stages? Is that broadly what you are saying?”

“I want to talk about the generic design assessment and ask each of you to describe very briefly what your view is on how effective it has been up to this point, given that only one has led to construction. We will then explore some issues around that. Andy, a very short answer to start with, please, and then we will ta…”