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Energy Bill

No, I am grateful to the noble Lord. Whether Dr Stone will be employed continually may be a matter for later decision, but it is intended that following the interim report that has just been published, there should be a final report from him in the autumn. It will cover all aspects with which he has been charged, some of which he has been helpful in identifying himself as crucial issues to be considered. I want to direct myself to the actual terms of the amendment, which, as noble Lords indicated, places an additional reporting burden on the inspectorate. The Government believe that most of the requirements of the amendment are already achieved through other means and we are concerned about the additional burdens that the report would place on the inspectorate. I want to outline the nature of reporting that is already undertaken on both the nuclear inspectorate resourcing and the generic design process. The information that would be provided as a result of the amendment is already produced by the Health and Safety Executive as part of its business strategy. Information on HSE and nuclear inspectorate resources are also published in the HSE annual report. In addition, the nuclear directorate of the HSE produces an annual plan of work that sets out how the directorate intends to conduct its work over the coming period. All of that information is available online. The committee will recognise that of all the many responsibilities that the Health and Safety Executive has, the nuclear industry is bound to be of paramount importance. We all know that it is more demanding in terms of safety than any counterpart area for which the HSE has general responsibility. With regard to reporting on the progress of the generic design assessment, the regulators produce public reports on each design being assessed at the end of each step. Those reports set out the findings of the regulators on each design and set out areas for further work as the generic design assessment proceeds. That process is not, as we would expect, carefully monitored but is reported at regular stages. It is also worth noting that with regard to reporting arrangements, as the nuclear inspectorate is part of the Health and Safety Executive, through the relevant Select Committee Parliament can require the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to report to it on matters that fall within that department’s remit. That gives flexibility for Parliament without adding an unnecessary burden on the Government or the nuclear inspectorate. That is already a line of responsibility to Parliament. Turning to the generic design assessment process itself, I am pleased to say that step three of the process is now under way. This phase looks at the design safety overview of a particular reactor. As part of the process, the nuclear inspectorate has created a process review board that provides external scrutiny of the assessment process and suggests areas for improvement for its next stage. To enhance the process further, the inspectorate is also seeking to build on relationships with overseas regulators, of which the French relationship that I identified earlier is of very great significance. Building on information from overseas regulators will improve the inspectorate’s understanding of the designs and allow regulatory decisions to be made in a timely manner. I am not sure any joy is ever derived from anxieties with regard to the nuclear industry, but if any is to be derived from the anxieties identified by the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, and to which the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, made reference, it is the fact that we can learn from the experience of others relating to new build. In the same way as the inspectorate does, potential operators and vendors can also help the process by ensuring that the inspectorate receives timely, good quality submissions when requested. We expect that that will occur. We are well aware of the important issues that the noble Baroness’s amendment raises around the resourcing of the nuclear inspectorate. We are continuing to make improvements in this area and can point to some substantial ones that have been made in recent months. We are making good progress on the generic design assessment process, which will be subject to regular reporting. We believe, therefore, that the existing methods of reporting, including answerability to Parliament, are adequate. I hope the noble Baroness will feel reassured sufficiently to withdraw her amendment.