Speeches

Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what support the Government plans to provide to communities in (a) West Cumbria and (b) Somerset (i) during and (ii) after the construction of new nuclear development in those areas.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government aims to maximise the supply chain, skills and infrastructure opportunities from new nuclear development for host communities. DECC chairs fora in both West Cumbria and Somerset that bring together senior stakeholders, including local and central Government. During construction of a nuclear plant, local communities receive funding from the developer through a mechanism in the Development Consent Order. We also encourage communities to bid for Government funding to capitalise on new nuclear opportunities, such as the upcoming Growth Deal 3. In 2013 the Government announced a Community Benefit package for new nuclear host communities once a plant begins operating. This totals £1000 per megawatt of capacity for each year of the plant’s initial life.