This new report from Policy Exchange is the first to be released under the auspices of its new Nuclear Enterprise Commission. The Commission will produce a series of papers and research notes over the coming six months addressing the most pressing questions facing the UK’s nuclear enterprise. Drawing together expertise from across government, industry and academia, its research and events will span subjects from nuclear deterrent and the nuclear threat landscape to regulation, the nuclear industrial base and dual-use technologies. This breadth will enable the Commission to propose a wide array of answers to the considerable challenges at the heart of energy and national security policy.

The report argues that Britain risks a considerable electricity shortfall as demand rises, ageing plants close and renewables prove highly unreliable. The only answer to this predicament, nuclear energy, has been rendered unaffordable by excessively cautionary regulation and lengthy, litigious planning processes. To break this logjam, Dr Craig proposes two legislative solutions: using Hybrid or Private Acts of Parliament to grant development consent directly, removing the possibility of legal challenge, and establishing a new Nuclear Appeal Tribunal to resolve technical disputes quickly and balance safety requirements against wider societal and economic needs. Together, these reforms should unlock rapid, affordable nuclear construction and secure the reliable, clean energy which Britain will need.

Endorsing the report, Chair of the Nuclear Enterprise Commission, Rt Hon Lord Case CVO PC writes:

“Policy Exchange’s new report demonstrates that the UK is barrelling toward an energy crisis – and an urgent change in policy is needed to stop costs continuing to rise, and to secure our energy security as a nation. To do otherwise is to risk energy shortages.”

“The need to put nuclear enterprise at the heart of government reform is why I will be chairing Policy Exchange’s new Nuclear Enterprise Commission, where international experts will come together to work out the best way forward.”

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