Extract from Commons
statement on the AUKUS Defence Partnership
The Minister for Defence Procurement ():...The first SSN-AUKUS for the
Royal Navy will be built in the United Kingdom and delivered in
the late 2030s, taking full advantage of our many decades of
experience in building nuclear-powered submarines. To support
SSN-AUKUS, Australia has committed to making a proportionate
financial investment in our submarine industrial base. SSN-AUKUS
will support thousands of new jobs at Barrow-in-Furness and Derby
and throughout the national supply chain. These are truly centres
of excellence, and I am proud to say that they stand ready to
support Australia in this endeavour. It is particularly good news
that Rolls-Royce UK
will be building the nuclear reactors for all of Australia’s
submarines...
(North Durham) (Lab): I
welcome this announcement. Last year, I visited Australia, and
one thing that impressed me was that, for Australia, this is a
national endeavour. With meetings at federal level and obviously
with the state premier of South Australia, this is a joined-up
national endeavour, including looking at skills not just for
today, but for the future.
I noticed that, in the new refresh of the integrated review
yesterday, it says:
“We have also: announced…Great British Nuclear, to progress a
resilient pipeline of new nuclear projects”.
The fear I have is that we are not matching the endeavour of the
Australians. Could the Minister explain how we will get that
concentration on skills—not just today, but in future—especially
with the Business Department shilly-shallying around the
investment for Rolls-Royce in
the small modular nuclear reactors?
: May I welcome the right
hon. Member’s approval, which is appreciated? He is right that it
is a joined-up endeavour in Australia. It has to be, and the
Australians well understand the enormous scale of what they are
taking on. As he indicated, I look forward to welcoming the
premier of South Australia in Barrow this Thursday. His point
about skills is well made. We are clear, as are those at
Raynesway in Derby, and in Barrow and Furness, that we need to
grow the skills pipeline, but that has already begun. If we
consider the £2 billion invested last year, yes, some of it went
to new buildings and equipment, but it also went to ensuring that
the capacity and college facilities to bring on those apprentices
are in place. Someone who goes to Derby can be briefed now about
precisely what is taking place. The excitement, enthusiasm and
drive that is going into ensuring sufficient suitably qualified
and expert personnel is reassuring and encouraging. The right
hon. Gentleman is making the right point, and I am pleased to
reassure him that that matter is not lost on those involved.
(Warley) (Lab): I welcome
this development, as well as the announcement from the Prime
Minister, an American Democrat President and an Australian Labour
Prime Minister, showing unity between parties and across
countries on this vital endeavour. However, I think the Minister
is unreasonably complacent. It is not clear who is in charge, and
lack of clarity leads to delay and disruption. If we look at the
Polaris agreement—it was signed at Nassau in 1962, and HMS
Resolution was laid down in 1964, launched in 1996, and
commissioned in 1967. Who will be doing that? On the nuclear
aspect, as my right hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr
Jones) said, the report states that we will be looking to
“align delivery of the civil and defence nuclear enterprises”
and goes on to mention the development of
“small modular reactors in the UK through Rolls-Royce SMR;”.
Yet the Treasury is sabotaging that project. It is demanding
endless inquiries and evaluations, and is now talking about
having a competition with international competitors to try to
undermine Rolls-Royce
We do not have that link-up between the civil and military
enterprise, so when will somebody get a grip?
: I thank the right hon.
Gentleman for his remarks, but I do not recognise the points he
is making. As far as Rolls-Royce is
concerned, the Government are absolutely behind that fantastic
facility—
: indicated dissent.
: I have been there
recently, and I am pleased to say that they are. Rolls-Royce recognises
the importance of this programme. One thing that is clear about
building nuclear powered submarines is that unless we keep the
drum beat of “always-on” manufacture, it is easy for those skills
to erode. I am delighted that this programme ensures that we will
be building reactors now and in the future for generations to
come. That means we will keep those expert personnel, ensure a
pipeline of staff, and we will be experts for many years to come.
(Bolsover) (Con): This
is a very welcome agreement that helps to make the world just a
little bit safer. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Faslane
with the armed forces parliamentary scheme. I met some of our
submariners, went aboard one of our nuclear submarines and saw a
reactor built by Rolls-Royce in
Derby, which will have been made by some of my constituents. The
announcement is incredibly welcome news for Derby and Derbyshire.
What assessment has the Department made of the economic boost it
will bring to the east midlands?
: I thank my hon. Friend for
his excellent question. He is a great supporter of his
constituents who produce these brilliant reactors. I am so
pleased he went to Rosyth and met the submariners, because I
would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to them. It is
a tough job, candidly. They do on our behalf, out of sight and
sometimes out of mind, an enormously important job and I know the
whole House will join me in paying tribute to them for what they
deliver for the security of our nation. The additional
investment—let us be clear that the nuclear reactors will supply
all the Australian SSN-AUKUS submarines—will mean thousands more
high-skilled, high-paid jobs here in the UK. To the point made
just a few moments ago, they will be welded shut nuclear
reactors. I am happy to be able to make that point. They will not
need to be opened or tampered with in any way during the lifetime
of the submarine.
(East Antrim) (DUP): I
welcome today’s announcement as further evidence that we and our
allies are taking seriously the threat of Chinese aggression in
the Pacific, and taking action to deal with it. Apart from the
strategic security advantages, the announcement offers economic
benefit to the United Kingdom. The Minister has indicated that
the defence supply chain should benefit, and it is reported that
Barrow shipyard, Rolls-Royce
Thales and more will be in line to benefit. Is the Minister in a
position to indicate whether this announcement will lead to extra
high-value jobs in engineering and defence in Northern
Ireland?
: It is overwhelmingly
likely that this announcement will have a positive impact across
the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland. Inevitably,
precisely how it shakes down will become clear in the fullness of
time, because we will need to see the extent to which the supply
chains are met in the UK, the United States and Australia. There
is the rub—the point of all this is that all three countries
bring that element of resilience. Already, Australia has certain
capabilities in pressure hull steel, valves, pumps and batteries;
we have capabilities in nuclear reactions and so on; and the
United States brings weapons systems and various other
technologies to bear. That resilience in the supply chain is
important to ensure not just that the current submarines can be
fitted out and produced, but, vitally, that there is a pipeline
in future, because it sends the strongest possible demand signal
not just now but for generations to come.
To read all the exchanges, CLICK HERE
Extract from oral
answer (Lords) on Cleaner Energy Technologies
(Con): My Lords,
does my noble friend the Minister agree that the only way even to
get close to the net-zero targets is to make major changes to the
current energy policies to enable a substantial increase in both
the number and speed of deployment of nuclear reactors?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Energy
Security and Net Zero () (Con): I certainly
agree with my noble friend that we need to expand both the
potential and the deployment of nuclear reactors, and we are
doing just that. We recently passed the Nuclear Energy
(Financing) Bill, for which I am grateful for the House’s
support. We have invested several hundred million pounds in the
new Sizewell plant and are supporting Rolls-Royce to
develop the next generation of small modular reactors.
To read all the exchanges, CLICK HERE
