Category: Speeches

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what research her Department has commissioned on the particular challenges of implementing cyber security to cover small modular reactors (SMRs); and whether the recently announced competition for research on SMRs includes research on cyber security.

Andrea Leadsom

Any nuclear reactor or facility proposed for deployment in the UK is subject to regulation. Therefore, any small modular reactor (SMR) design proposed for construction would undergo safety, security and environmental design assessment, including an assessment of cyber security.

Ensuring safety and security is the legal duty of operators and safety and security at all nuclear sites are kept under regular review. The UK’s independent regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), carries out inspections to ensure operators are fulfilling their duties and that robust safety and security measures are in place across the industry.

DECC is working with ONR to ensure that the regulatory regime is fit for any possible future deployment of SMRs. DECC is currently developing the detail of the programme that will be taken forward as part of the £250m nuclear innovation, research and development funding announced by my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Autumn Statement. The recommendations and advice of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board and key stakeholders will be taken into account in the process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to paragraph 4.79 of the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what steps the Government has taken since 2010 to achieve the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons; and what initiatives the Government has taken to date to work with the UK’s international partners to tackle proliferation and to make progress on multilateral nuclear disarmament.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK National Report submitted in February in advance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference set out steps we have taken to support the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. This includes support to the international monitoring system designed to detect nuclear tests, efforts to build trust and confidence with other Nuclear Weapon States through the P5 process, and initiatives with Norway and the US on how to verify disarmament of nuclear weapons. We have also met our commitment to reduce the number of operationally available warheads to no more than 120. We have worked to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime, most notably through our role in securing an agreement involving strict limits and inspections on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that private contractors invest in prisons throughout the length of the management contract.

Andrew Selous

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for the management of the 14 private prisons in England and Wales.

The terms of each contract include an agreed level of service. There are financial remedies which apply where a provider fails to achieve this expected level of performance, making sure that they have an incentive to properly support the rehabilitation of offenders on an ongoing basis.

There are clear processes in place to monitor performance and identify emerging issues. Each private prison has an on-site Controller, accountable for providing assurance that the contracts for each prison are delivered in accordance with agreed contractual delivery indicators, and that the prison provides safe, decent and secure services in line with performance standards.