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Nuclear Industry

I do not think that the hon. Gentleman was attacking the nuclear installations inspectorate. I certainly did not infer that from his comments. However, if I may leap to its defence, it has an exceptionally difficult and important job in respect of nuclear science in the UK. The point that I would make, which is of direct relevance to the hon. Gentleman’s comments, is, yes, pre-licensing and investigation of new reactor technologies has been done in the United States most recently and in Finland as well, but, because the UK regulatory regime is the gold standard internationally, it is important that we do not simply import other regulatory regimes or accept the findings of other regulators. It is important—sadly, I concede that it is probably also very costly—for the NII to undertake its own investigations and fulfil pre-licensing requirements for whichever reactor design we may wish to proceed with in this country. I do not know whether the Minister can confirm this, but I believe that the Health and Safety Executive and the NII have begun a pre-licensing investigation of new nuclear reactor designs.