Speeches by Reader.

“They need to, but will they?”

“The potential rapid closure of St Andrew’s hospital in my constituency puts over 3,000 jobs at risk. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss what package of support we can put in place for those people to ensure they can find good quality work in my constituency?”

“Does the Department or GBE-N do supply chain assurance to look at your partners you are working with, such as Rolls-Royce, to make sure their supply chains are robust and free from Chinese or Russian influence?”

“Coming back to the supply chain and particularly the 70%, could you talk us through the contractual mechanisms that make sure that Rolls-Royce delivers it? What happens if it does not?”

“You do not know. Would it be in the contract that you would if it does not deliver on what it said?”

“What does “more costly” mean? If the strike price is astronomical compared to renewables and gas, are the Government prepared to walk away from SMR if it is disproportionately expensive to consumers?”

“I mean China being in the manufacturing supply chain. What work is done in the Department to reduce that risk?”

“Sam, what is being done in the Department to reduce the risk that China poses to UK security?”

“Sorry, I was asking Sam in terms of the Department. Is there a focus in your Department to make sure that that manufacturing base is delivered, as well as delivering the actual onsite nuclear and the regulatory changes?”

“We heard through a previous inquiry that the UK is not an attractive place to set up manufacturing, with high energy costs particularly being one of the drivers, as well as planning regulations and cost of development. Are you confident that the levers are being pulled by the DBT and others to make sure that all those …”

“Is there a threshold at which you would consider removing the contract from Rolls-Royce, for example 50% or 40%?”

“In theory, we could be paying extremely high prices to be the first of a kind. It does not appear like the Government would step away from that decision on SMR if the price paid by consumers for the strike price is considerably larger than renewables.”

“Hinkley Point C is being delivered under a contracts for difference and Sizewell C under the RAB model. Do you think that RAB is an appropriate model for the SMR programme?”

“Given that RAB would expose consumers to paying for construction costs and construction risk and that the first of a kind model used on SMRs means that we do not really know how much they are going to cost to build, is it appropriate for taxpayers to hold that liability?”

“You have signed a contract with it without a contractual arrangement to deliver the 70%.”

“When we questioned Rolls-Royce, all the companies it named were not owned in the UK. They were American and French. They were the traditional nuclear supply chain. They were global companies that will use global labour and global capability. Is that 70% realistic?”

“You mentioned Czech Republic earlier. It is fantastic to see a British company getting out and delivering in other nations. A concern that we heard in the last session was where the factory will be. We have been told that Rolls-Royce is offering the Czech Government, “The factory will be in your country”. If Czech Repu…”

“In terms of the UK’s nuclear supply chain, how exposed are we to China?”

“How much focus from the Department, Sam, comes on building that manufacturing capability to deliver the nuclear roadmap, compared to the regulatory changes and the focus on working directly with the building of the actual facilities themselves?”

“I am just trying to understand the global perspective here. You have talked about the Czech Republic and America; I have just done a quick search, and Rolls-Royce is working in Turkey; there is SMR in Canada, India, and the Middle East, all of which are first of a kind. Why is the industry delivering so many pilot sche…”