Clause 59
Energy Bill
6:15 pm
Malcolm Wicks (Minister of State (Energy), Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform; Croydon North, Labour)
Obviously, this is about new nuclear. The powers in the Bill will not affect Scotland, largely because the Scottish Executive, who are the planning authority for power stations of this kind, have made it clear that, at present, on planning grounds, they will not allow new nuclear to be built in Scotland. I personally hope that Scotland will one day open the way to what will be an important modern industry in the 21st century, and there may come a time when these issues will need to be revisited. However, none of the key provisions in the Bill applies to Scotland
It is important that bodies corporate associated with the operator are caught within the scope of the clause, because those involved in financing and supporting such an operator are as important to the sustainability and viability of the programme as the operator’s ability to fund it. It is therefore only right that, if one of the interested bodies had information about an associated company that might have an impact on the programme, the regulator could be required to share that information with the Secretary of State. We will work with interested bodies to draw up a memorandum of understanding that will set out how the Secretary of State and individual regulators should work together not only in sharing information, but in ensuring that the process for approving, monitoring and reviewing decommissioning programmes is understood by all those involved. That will also enable operators and persons with obligations under a programme to understand what they can expect from those parties with regulatory responsibilities.