Nuclear Safeguards Bill

My hon. Friend, who has a close connection with his constituents who work at Culham, is absolutel...

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that there is nothing in the Bill that will prevent us from see...

I can confirm that the Bill has been prepared on a contingency basis. The discussions around our ...

My right hon. Friend has just confirmed that the Bill is necessary only because the Government ha...

Order. The right hon. and learned Gentleman may be the Father of the House, but that does not all...

Will the Secretary of State give an argument in favour of abolishing a satisfactory arrangement t...

It might have been helpful if the right hon. and learned Gentleman had asked that question to beg...

Triggering article 50 of the treaty on European Union also requires triggering article 50 on memb...

Will the Secretary of State give an assurance that, as we leave the EU, the Bill will enable us t...

That is precisely the point of the Bill, and I will explain, perhaps at some length, the ways in ...

The Secretary of State is being generous in giving way. We heard clearly enough that this is a co...

It is very clear that membership of Euratom requires membership of the European Union, which is w...

Many professionals in the nuclear industry and outside academics are seriously concerned about th...

Let me say two things. First, we want to see maximum continuity of the standards—we do not want a...

I welcome the Secretary of State’s approach. Will he confirm it will mean that all the operationa...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I say, I do not think anyone regards the arrangement...

My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke) referred to the fact that ...

My hon. Friend will doubtless be aware that across the international community there is great rec...

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on pursuing this issue with calm and decency. Will he take th...

My right hon. Friend is right; there is nothing in that at all.

Let me state it another way...

Will the Secretary of State assure me that interested parties in the industry, principally the Nu...

I will certainly make that commitment. One feature of the nuclear industry is that it is, appropr...

rose—

I give way to the Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

The Secretary of State says that he speaks regularly to the experts in the sector and industry; c...

The hon. Lady justifies what I said at the outset. The arrangements we have had with Euratom have...

The decommissioning of the UK’s ageing nuclear estate is a critical aspect of Euratom’s work, yet...

There is no difference in the arrangements. As I say, the Bill makes provisions for a safeguardin...

In response to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Drew), the Secretary of State said that M...

Such consultation is the universal practice in the nuclear sector. The hon. Gentleman might serve...

The Nuclear Industry Association has made it absolutely clear that this legislation is necessary,...

As I have made it repeatedly clear, we regard the arrangements with Euratom as having served this...

As the Secretary of State is of course aware, there is an extended search to find a new investor ...

The fact of this legislation should send a signal to the world that we are absolutely determined ...

I thank the Secretary of State for giving way one more time. I am not sure whether he is coming t...

Radioisotopes are not in scope of the measures before us today; this is about safeguards; and I r...

As the Secretary of State has outlined, this Bill will provide the legal framework for establishi...

Is the hon. Lady saying that it is wrong for this House and this Government to prepare, in a prud...

Clearly, the Secretary of State was not listening to what I was saying. If he displays some patie...

My hon. Friend is right that it is debateable whether, legally, we have to leave Euratom. Would i...

It certainly would be helpful for the House to hear about the discussions that have been taking p...

Does the hon. Lady remember the long debates on the article 50 letter and the legislation to appr...

I earlier urged the Secretary of State to display a little bit of patience. If the right hon. Mem...

Is the hon. Lady aware that the European Commission itself has said that no country that leaves t...

The hon. Gentleman would do well to keep up. I have mentioned several times that there is a curre...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will just make some progress, if I may.

We have to be clear that the measures set out in ...

The hon. Lady’s position seems to be that there is legal uncertainty about whether it is necessar...

The point I am making is that there is legal uncertainty. Sadly, the Prime Minister firmly closed...

rose—

rose—

rose—

I will make some progress, if I may.

The Government stated in their notes on the Queen’s Sp...

I hope the hon. Lady will be reassured if she actually reads the Bill. It is clear that the power...

Let me take the Secretary of State on a little journey. If he listens carefully, he might see how...

To return to the substance of the Bill, which is about contingency, will the hon. Lady confirm th...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, but we are talking about very important arguments re...

The hon. Lady is going on and on, as is her wont, about the Government not giving the Opposition ...

I am sorry that I am boring the right hon. Gentleman, but if he listens to the rest of my contrib...

Order. May I say to Members that, if they speak for about eight minutes, everybody will get equal...

Thank you for calling me to speak, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk a...

It is woefully typical of the approach of this Government that despite their intention to abandon...

Do we not have to be very careful about our terminology? The Bill has absolutely nothing to do wi...

It is very important that the unanswered questions are dealt with in this insufficient Bill—[Inte...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I am going to make some headway.

In Scotland, we are already showing what can be achieved b...

I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman is making, but is not this the rub? He and I would...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution, but he highlights the fact that we have not seen...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I am going to make some progress.

As I was saying, in Scotland, although we are working...

For the very reasons that he has just alluded to, will the hon. Gentleman confirm whether the Sco...

What we would support is a sensible approach to maintaining either full or associate membership o...

Does my hon. Friend agree that there seems to be a rigid consensus among Conservative Members tha...

I agree that there are clearly unanswered questions about the legal position, which has not been ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I am going to make a bit of progress.

In its paper on radioisotopes and Brexit, the Roy...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the isotopes he refers to are not special fissile nuclear mat...

It is telling that Conservative Members are willing to ignore all advice from experts in the nucl...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I am going to make some progress.

As I have said, the UK does not currently have any re...

Perhaps I can help the hon. Gentleman. Euratom places no restrictions whatsoever on the export of...

I do not think that the Minister is reflecting the view of the experts in the industry who are af...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I am going to make some progress. As I pointed out, radioisotopes decay within hours or days ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, because I am going to conclude.

Most concerning of all is that leaving Euratom has the ...

It is abundantly clear, especially from the Westminster Hall debate secured by the hon. Member fo...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for referring to the debate I led on 12 July. There was consensus in t...

I appreciate the broad consensus in the Grand Committee Room, but not everyone had an opportunity...

Will the hon. Gentleman advise us what kind of transition he would propose?

We are very early on in the negotiations, and I am sure the Minister for Climate Change and Indus...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that is not about the EU wanting to give us radioisotopes, but abou...

Yes, I understand that some half-lives can be as short as six hours, so the efficacy of the isoto...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I have already given way on this issue.

It is absolutely extraordinary to suggest that thes...

Does my hon. Friend agree that implying that the Bill will have an impact on the supply of medica...

Absolutely. I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. As has been highlighted, 500 medical proc...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I have already given way.

That is an extraordinary thing to suggest, and since this is ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

No. I am going to make some progress.

As we leave the European Union, we want to continue r...

The hon. Gentleman is talking about the period beyond 2020. All things being equal, this Parliame...

There will be an ongoing consultation on the relationship the university and scientific sector in...

The hon. Gentleman is making some interesting points. I have consulted the powers that be in my c...

That is a fair point, and why we have to ensure that we have as close a relationship as possible,...

I do not think that anybody debated or considered leaving Euratom, or voted to leave it on 23 Jun...

I did.

Except the hon. Gentleman. However, we are where we are, and the Government have made their decis...

My hon. Friend is making an important point about the ONR’s resources. Indeed, it takes about sev...

My hon. Friend speaks with great knowledge. He led the Westminster Hall debate and has a constitu...

I am grateful and very pleased to be here as the first brick is placed into the strong foundation...

My hon. Friend clearly knows a lot about this subject, so on a point of information to illuminate...

As I was about to say, in truth, Euratom is the French. It is anchored around France, with its 58...

Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that the future of nuclear is still very uncertain? If the Roma...

I absolutely think that nuclear waste is important, particularly to us in this country. That is w...

I am immensely enjoying my hon. Friend’s speech, not least as I have discovered that the one pers...

No, I completely disagree with my right hon. Friend. This is not the wrong time; it is exactly th...

I am always further intrigued by the arguments of people such as my hon. Friend, who imply that w...

It has not prevented us, but we now have the opportunity to recognise that the nuclear community ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse)—[Hon. Members...

My hon. Friend’s precise point was that the Germans had retreated and left the field of civil nuc...

I tried to listen carefully.

I have some sympathy with Ministers. I am reminded of Dora Gai...

Those were the days.

Don’t tempt me!

Hugh Gaitskell had just turned on its head his previously strong support fo...

It is a pleasure to follow my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (Joh...

As many Members have already pointed out, the Bill should not be needed at all. The most sensible...

Is the hon. Lady seriously suggesting that there would be any circumstances in which well-qualifi...

I absolutely do, because we have not had that absolute cast-iron guarantee. I should add that thi...

My concern is that, as we know, world-class nuclear scientists are a rare and valued commodity, a...

I let the hon. Gentleman make a long intervention when I realised that there was a point that he ...

On funding, the haste with which the Bill has been introduced suggests the Minister wishes to mov...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran), who confir...

Thank you for calling me to speak, Madam Deputy Chair. I am pleased to be speaking in the debate ...

It’s Madam Deputy Speaker.

That is what I said—[Interruption.]

Order. There is no need for hon. Members to contradict the hon. Lady, although I know that they a...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I am pleased to be speaking in this debate. Once again, we...

The whole purpose of this Bill is to plan for the contingency where we leave Euratom, so how can ...

We have heard repeatedly from those on the Conservative Benches about transitional arrangements a...

I chose not to bring this up when the Opposition Front-Bench spokesman was speaking, but the Bill...

I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman is making a point about a legalistic separation, but when I ...

My hon. Friend has already made her point perfectly, but for absolute clarity about the overlap b...

My hon. Friend makes that point with his usual succinct articulation of the facts.

Before I...

My hon. Friend makes a key point about the breadth of issues that are not covered by the Bill’s n...

I think all Opposition Members sense the unease with which Government Members are unwilling to ta...

Realising the risk that I take by making this comparison, may I say that it is a pleasure to foll...

We’re all doomed!

And we’re all doomed, as I hear my hon. Friend say from a sedentary position.

Let me start ...

My hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) was suggesting that he was pre...

I still remain to be convinced, but I will not push that particular proposition to a Division thi...

Does my hon. Friend accept that it is a great pleasure for a lawyer to hear some pleasant congrat...

It is indeed, and who in their right mind would ever criticise a lawyer?

If we and the EU d...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill provides a level of reassurance to the nuclear industry a...

My hon. Friend is a doughty champion of engineering, research and innovation in this place and in...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way once again. Is it not particularly significant tha...

I agree very much with my hon. Friend. It certainly shoots the fox that we will have a bonfire of...

The hon. Gentleman criticises those who have raised concerns about access to medical isotopes, wh...

The hon. Lady falls into a classic trap. I am not one who seeks to dismiss experts—as a non-exper...

I thank my hon. Friend for largely making my point for me. He knows my deep interest in this area...

My hon. Friend makes a valid point. These debates often get stuck in a groove on the gramophone, ...

rose—

On the subject of concerns, I give way to the hon. Gentleman.

Can the hon. Gentleman tell us when the Royal College of Radiologists, Dame Sue Ion or the Nuclea...

I apologise for seeking to remake this point for the convenience of the hon. Gentleman, Madam Dep...

I just want to clarify this point, and I assure the hon. Gentleman that I will not try to interve...

I am not contradicting. I am seeking to answer—

You are dismissing them—

No, this is not dismissing them either. Are Members honestly saying that when a question is asked...

Does my hon. Friend think SNP Members will accept that it is ludicrous to imply that medical isot...

Once again, my hon. Friend makes the point in the most telling way. If we are providing no illumi...

Does my hon. Friend accept that medical isotopes and some associated equipment are also very high...

My hon. Friend gets the point, because he takes a Conservative approach to the operation of the e...

That was not in the scope of the Bill.

Well, that did not stop the hon. Lady dilating on lots of other things that were not in the Bill....

What a pleasure it is to follow my hon. Friend the Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare).

I...

Will the hon. Gentleman clarify whether the Bill is a contingency and a back-up or the bright, sh...

It is a sensible contingency to deal with safeguarding. We will no doubt be able to consider othe...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk), and before him ...

It seems to me that the Bill is not only a contingency plan but a crucial building block for our ...

The Government have been absolutely clear that they must prepare for all eventualities, and that ...

Order. It will be obvious to the House that a great many Members wish to take part in this import...

Madam Deputy Speaker, I am devastated by the news that I have been cut down to a mere six minutes...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mark Menzies). I join in this deb...

Does my hon. Friend agree that, while membership of Euratom has served the UK well, it is only pr...

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend that this is common sense. The Opposition argue that w...

I am genuinely pleased that this issue has been given such importance. That is not because, as so...

I am interested in the hon. Gentleman’s comments. Does he, then, disagree with the Nuclear Indust...

I am absolutely at a lost to understand the SNP’s position on this. We have an excellent relation...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me the opportunity to clarify. The key is in the final part...

I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman adds anything to his earlier intervention. There is a syste...

I rise to support the Bill, unsurprisingly, because as colleagues well know, the decision to leav...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not give way, because a number of Members still wish to speak. I apologise; I would no...

My only regret in speaking is that, given the constraints on our time, you have imposed a six-min...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me to respond. Does he accept that the industry ...

I know that the hon. Gentleman has been listening to the debate with rapt attention, and he will ...

The hon. Gentleman rightly points out where he disagrees with politicians of other places or has ...

Forgive me, but one of the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues mentioned—we can all look at Hansard tomor...

It is a pleasure to follow the many thoughtful and informed speeches we have heard this evening, ...

It is, perhaps, less pleasurable than it should be to follow so many of my colleagues, because it...

Does my hon. Friend agree that as we look towards moving from Horizon 2020 to framework programme...

I entirely agree. It is vital for us to be able to safeguard our national interests and the skill...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley), and to be calle...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is highly appropriate that this should be the first piece of ov...

So we can add “oven-ready” to “boil in the bag” Brexit, perhaps; yes, it is the latest example of...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Mims Davies). The Hansard edi...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill is also about building public confidence, and that develo...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Civil nuclear is a key part of our energy requirements and, i...

I may be the last speaker before the wind-ups, but it is none the less a pleasure to contribute t...

The hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) struck the right note when she said this i...

Is not the whole purpose of a Bill such as this to stop anybody crashing out? The hon. Gentleman ...

I agree that it is irresponsible language and I am sorry to have heard it from some Conservative ...

The problem is that the nuclear industry is not currently able to call on that level of expertise...

My hon. Friend makes a valid point, which I am coming straight to. As a number of Members have me...

I apologise, Mr Speaker, because I nearly called you Madam Deputy Speaker. I turned around and yo...

rose—

I would love to give way to the Chair of the BEIS Select Committee, but I have very little time. ...

What a gentleman! Thank you very much.

The Minister is setting out two alternatives: the ON...

Well, I do know that the Chair of the Select Committee is a well-known Blairite, but actually to ...

rose—

I really must make some progress.

As we have heard, there are other issues of great importa...