Government consults on policy framework for new nuclear build

As part of its Energy Review Report, the Government issued a Consultation on the Policy Framework for New Nuclear Build. This follows the Government's conclusion in its Report that the building of further nuclear power stations constitutes an economical and low-carbon option for generating electricity and would also increase the UK's diversity of energy supplies.

Government is inviting comments on a number of proposals, including the following key ones:

• Government proposes to introduce a "Statement of Need" for further nuclear power stations. This "Statement of Need" would address all national strategic and regulatory issues, which are connected to nuclear new build. Government's intention is then to formalise these issues in a White Paper. This would remove the consideration of such issues from the planning process, which would instead focus solely on the environmental and social impacts of individual proposals for new nuclear build (to read our Law-Now article on the planning