argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will know from her involvement in the scrutiny of the Nuclear Safeguards Bill that we have made very good progress both on the proposed agreements with other nuclear countries and on our intended association with Euratom. I regard this as an area in which it is clearly in everyone’s interest to have the greatest possible continuity of the existing arrangements. That is no secret; it is known to any partner and any investor, including Hitachi.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, the opportunities for Wales follow from exactly the point that my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Sir Michael Fallon) made. The knowledge of the investment that will be made there provides great opportunities for people in north Wales and beyond to develop the skills that will be in high demand and to ensure that the engineering companies and other suppliers can gear up for this important work. Before I came to the House today I discussed the matter with the First Minister, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales spoke to Ken Skates, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport. We will work closely together to ensure that across Wales and, indeed, the United Kingdom, these opportunities result in real jobs and prosperity for the people of Wales and the UK.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman makes the very important point that we have seen progress in renewables and that we are seeing progress in storage. Today, nuclear provides just over 20% of the electricity we consume and wind provides 5.5%. My view is that we should have diversity in our energy supply—the wind will not supply all our needs every day. His point about storage technology is correct and he knows from the industrial strategy that we are investing in its development, but it is not at the stage where it can offer the reliable baseload power that nuclear, which supplies 20% of the UK’s electricity, offers now. That is a very important part of the mix.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Laurence Anthony Robertson (Conservative, Centre-right): Horizon Nuclear Power employs 350 people in my constituency, and I visited Hitachi in Tokyo fairly recently, so I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement today. Does he agree that the fault over the past 30 years has been the failure of successive Governments to replace the existing nuclear power stations? I urge him to press ahead with these projects for the very reasons that he has given, of security of supply and the reduction of emissions.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend. It is not a positive reflection on previous Governments that, knowing that this important contribution of more than 20% of our power supply was coming to the end of its life in the decade ahead, no plans were made to replace it. The fact that we now have a pipeline of nuclear power plants will provide confidence that that source of energy will be maintained and, as we have discussed, provide important economic opportunities for people to enjoy successful careers and prosperity in that industry.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that, particularly with the electrification of more of our transport and heating, new nuclear is an essential part of providing the right energy load—including Hinkley Point C, adjacent to my constituency, with all the spin-offs it will bring—to meet our Government’s highly commendable carbon reduction commitments at least cost?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend and I agree with her that nuclear should be a part of our energy mix. To be resilient, we should have a diverse energy mix. It is important that the cost of any project should be acceptable and affordable for bill payers as well as taxpayers. That will be an important principle in the negotiations, but if we are successful in that, it will make the contribution my hon. Friend describes.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady has, as she describes, a fundamental disagreement: she does not see any benefit from nuclear to the resilience and supply of our electricity. That has long been her view, but I am surprised that she would talk down our country’s achievements on renewables. She should know that as a result of decisions taken by this Government and our predecessor, we are now the leading nation in the world for the deployment of offshore wind. Taking a strategic approach and investing in the future with a pipeline, just as we propose for new nuclear, has resulted in jobs being created around the towns and cities, in particular the coastal towns, of this country. I would have thought she would recognise and welcome that.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree it is important to maintain not just diversity of supply but diversity of suppliers within the nuclear industry? Will he therefore welcome the progress made in the construction of unit 3 of the Fangchenggang power station in China, which is the reference plant for the proposed HPR1000 reactor at Bradwell-on-Sea? Will he reaffirm his support for that project, subject to the generic design assessment and regulatory approvals?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my right hon. Friend that having a diversity of energy sources is important, but so is having some degree of competition between suppliers. That is why I referred in my statement to the pipeline that is in prospect. On the GDA process, we of course welcome progress through that. For each of these projects, it is foundational that the safety case is demonstrated. It is important that they should meet that, but it is also important that they demonstrate that they offer value for money for both the taxpayer and the bill payer. In each of these cases, negotiations will focus on that as well as on other aspects.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise the support for the nuclear industry that the hon. Gentleman espouses. This is a statement about a very good development in a particular negotiation. He refers to the project at Moorside. As he knows, it is not at the same stage. We are responding to recommendations of the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee to consider other financing models. It is the start of a negotiation, but I feel confident that we should take that step to commence.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): No. The NAO report noted that all major energy projects have some involvement with the state. That is a feature of the current market not just in this country but around the world. We want to drive the best value for money for both the taxpayer and the bill payer.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): We have decided to enter a period of negotiations and consider the NAO and PAC recommendations. This is an announcement about this particular project. The House will see me make an update as we progress with the negotiations.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the consequences of the Labour party’s prevarication on the nuclear industry has been the deskilling of that industry. Will my right hon. Friend expand on his plans for skilling up our workforce, particularly our young people, so they get the opportunity to work in this thriving industry?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I had the pleasure of visiting the National College for Nuclear in Somerset a couple of weeks ago. Seeing the opportunities that will be available to the next generation of nuclear engineers is an inspiring sight. I am pleased that this is now available for them.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: International Affairs
David Ian Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his statement, which will be widely welcomed in north Wales where Wylfa is such an important part of the regional economy. On timescale, he mentioned that the negotiations will be subject to, among other things, the requirements of state aid. Are we to infer from that that he anticipates the negotiations will be complete before 29 March next year, after which one would hope state aid would not be a consideration?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is ingenious in his scrutiny of the timetable. If we start the negotiations on the regime while a member of the EU, it seems to me that we would not want to delay their completion until the date of Brexit.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises a very important point. The treatment and storage of nuclear waste is part of the consultation at the moment. Part of the safety assessment for all new and current nuclear plants is to make sure that the waste is stored and eventually disposed of safely, and part of any contract needs to provide for the money to address that.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): I totally agree that starting the negotiations with Horizon, based in the Gloucester business park, to secure replacement nuclear capacity and to deal with increased demand for electricity is a very good thing. I wish my right hon. Friend all good luck in securing a balance of advantages to the taxpayer between a lower strike price on the one hand and—no doubt—some cost and construction risk on the other. The aspects he highlighted—greater security, low carbon, greater diversity, jobs, supply chains—all apply equally to the fabulous tidal lagoon project mooted for Swansea. I do hope he can secure a positive response to the Hendry review as soon as possible.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I referred in my statement to the nuclear sector deal and, in particular, investment in innovation in advanced nuclear technologies, which is the area the hon. Gentleman mentions. That initiative, which we will launch with the sector, is forthcoming, and of course I am happy to meet him to discuss the firm in his constituency.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State in his statement highlighted the need to drive down the cost of the construction and operation of this new generation of nuclear reactors. In that regard, are we likely to see more reliance on offsite modular construction techniques? If so, will that present opportunities not just for Wales but right around the country, including for the expertise that already exists on the Tyne, the Wear, the Tees and, of course, the Humber?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Mark Andrew Menzies (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and continued support for the nuclear industry. Will he look at Springfields, the nuclear fuel manufacturer, which employs 1,200 people in my constituency, and do everything he can to ensure that the next generation of nuclear fuel is made right here in the UK?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is a consistent and passionate advocate for Springfields in his constituency. The Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Richard Harrington), who is responsible for industry, will be visiting very shortly. It is a matter for the company where it sources its fuel, but I know that my hon. Friend’s representations will be heard.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Nigel John Mills (Conservative, Centre-right): I urge the Secretary of State to back small modular reactors, which could be the solution for lower-cost nuclear energy. Is there more the Government can do to help the industry bring forward these ideas so that we can be a leader in the world and not a follower?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We announced £56 million of research and development for small modular reactors last year, and we are now looking at the financing and the regulatory framework. I mentioned the forthcoming nuclear sector deal. He will see substantial reference to this point in that agreement.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Mark Julian Francis Pawsey (Conservative, Centre-right): Today’s announcement is important and good news for the supply chain for the new nuclear plants. I wonder if I might join my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) in asking the Secretary of State whether he anticipates a similar good news announcement for companies in the supply chain for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, such as GE Power based in Rugby.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
David Thomas Charles Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Has my right hon. Friend noted a cross-party view in the House that £92.50 is the absolute maximum we should be paying for energy generation, and will this feature in his deliberations on further energy projects?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
David Thomas Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): In my constituency, we have two nuclear power stations, which is welcome news for my constituents, but we need a third. We have the site—the seventh site—and I could line up five developers under this proposal. Would the Secretary of State like to meet to discuss this further?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to do that. I fondly remember a visit I made to a nuclear power station in my hon. Friend’s constituency some years ago. Perhaps he could bring me up to date with developments since.
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker; obviously you are saving the best till last I welcome today’s statement and the Secretary of State’s commitment to a new generation of nuclear reactors. He will be aware of the close link in France between nuclear and the navy and civil nuclear power in terms of long-term careers for those who serve in the submarines providing the deterrent. Will he do the same with our industry?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Chris Ian Brian Mynott Philp (Conservative, Centre-right): I warmly welcome this announcement, which, as the Secretary of State says, will help us to maintain a balanced, low-carbon energy mix. So many of these projects can be beset by delays—Hinkley C is an example—so may I urge him to progress this initiative with a sense of urgency and to carry forward the small modular reactor competition as quickly as possible?
Nuclear Power — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Gregory David Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): I will indeed. We will have more to say in the sector deal about small modular reactors. I stress to the House that we are entering a period of negotiations, and they have to meet some important requirements, but it is in all our interests that they proceed in an orderly way. The purpose of today’s announcement is to allow us to do precisely that.
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Agriculture
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I will, in a moment, call—hopefully in an atmosphere of calm and excited expectation of ministerial oratory—the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, upon whose every word I feel sure all Members present are hanging. They are in a state of some animation, but I know that they will wish to hear about the Ivory Bill and the reason it should be given a Second Reading as they listen to the Secretary of State.
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Environment
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time I well understand why so many Members were in the House to hear the application for a debate under Standing Order No. 24 made by the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy). I am sure that I speak for Members in all parts of the House in thanking her for giving us all an opportunity to discuss that important and urgent matter Nature, as we know, has the capacity to awe and to inspire, and there are few more awe-inspiring examples of nature than the African elephant. It is a remarkable, keystone species: an icon which, for many of us, sums up nature at its most impressive, transformational and powerful. It is an important species not just because of what it symbolises, and not just because of the economic impact of tourism on Africa, but because it is indeed a keystone species on which the health, biodiversity and resilience of Africa’s economy depends.
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Environment
Henry Edward Millar Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is making a fantastic start to his speech. It is estimated that some 20,000 African elephants are being poached every year, the equivalent of about 55 a day. Does that not mean that it is important for us to pass the Bill as soon as possible?
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Environment
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has anticipated exactly the point that I wanted to make. It is critical that, in appreciating the importance of the African elephant, we also appreciate the scale of the threat that the species now faces. My hon. Friend is absolutely right: given that 20,000 African elephants are being slaughtered every year in a drive by poachers to secure their tusks for criminal gain, we face a remarkable onslaught against the species—an onslaught that is devastating communities and upending economies, and also poses an existential risk to the African elephant. Unless action is taken to interdict the poachers and reduce the demand for ivory, it is possible that, on our watch—on the watch of our generation—the African elephant will meet extinction. I think that, as was well said by my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Hague of Richmond, it would be impossible for any of us to face our children and grandchildren and say that we had the opportunity to take steps, legislative and otherwise, to safeguard this magnificent animal, and failed to act The Bill gives us in the United Kingdom an opportunity to play our part and to show leadership. We have been invited to show that leadership by the countries at the sharp end. More than 30 African nations have asked us, and others, to do what we can to stop the poaching, to end the trade in ivory, and to restore balance and health to their nations by supporting their efforts to ensure that the African elephant can survive in the future.
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Environment
Simon James Hoare (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Secretary of State, whose Bill has my support. Will there be an opportunity, possibly in Committee, to consider including in its scope the Indian elephant, the rhinoceros and the narwhal whale?
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his support. There will be an opportunity in Committee to consider whether the scope of the Bill is absolutely as it should be. A number of Members have previously indicated their interest in extending its scope to other forms of ivory, such as narwhal horns, and there will indeed be an opportunity to debate precisely that matter in Committee I am also happy to give way to my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin).
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Environment
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely will, because it is incumbent on all of us across the globe to take action. The specific request from African nations could not be clearer, so it is incumbent on us in the United Kingdom, countries in the far east—which often constitute the biggest market for ivory—and also countries like the United States, which has a distinguished global leadership role, to take action; it is incumbent on all of us to play our part as well I think there is an appreciation across the House of the importance of the elephant as a species. I mentioned earlier that it is a keystone species: if it were not for the elephant we would not have the means by which we maintain balance in the savannahs and grasslands of Africa. That is in the nature of the role the elephant plays, by the way in which it feeds and—without wanting to go into too much detail in the House—the way in which it excretes. It is important that we make sure that the elephant survives, because without it savannah and grassland would not survive, and without it we would not have species like zebra or like antelope, and without them we would not have the magnificent predators—the charismatic megafauna, the lions and others which feed on those creatures. So by removing the elephant we would not just see one of the most iconic, beautiful and awe-inspiring species with which we share this planet disappear; we would also unloose upon Africa a cascade effect of environmental degradation and damage that I think none of us could possibly countenance.
Ivory Bill — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Environment
Richard Benyon (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is making a very important point about the pyramid of biodiversity that is protected when one protects the megafauna at the top, but does he agree that conservation of the elephant is essentially a human interface that we have to get right, and that organisations such as the Northern Rangelands Trust in Kenya have been extraordinarily successful in making sure that local people see the value of wildlife? We can assist in that through our role as an international mediator, although we are not a range state.