Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's work on the UK Government's Nuclear Skills Taskforce?
A new Nuclear Skills taskforce consisting of UK Government officials (Ministry of Defence and the Departments of Education and Energy Security and Net Zero), academics and industry partners and chaired by Sir Simon Bollum (former Chief Executive Officer of Defence Equipment and Support) was established in August 2023 to ensure that both the UK’s defence and civil nuclear sectors have the right people with the right skills to take advantage of future growth opportunities. However, the Welsh Government was not invited to participate and we have had no engagement with the taskforce to date.
When Hitachi’s Wylfa Newydd project was live, the Welsh Government established an internal, cross departmental Wylfa Newydd Programme to respond to the numerous challenges arising from such a large infrastructure investment. One of the Programme’s working groups focused on Education and Skills and dealt with the issues of training and skills provision. While the purchase of the Wylfa (and Oldbury) site is a step in the right direction, we have not yet reached the stage in the evolution of any new Wylfa project where we understand its nature or structure, who will be leading it or what technology will be deployed. In the absence of any information on these issues, specific interventions cannot be meaningfully planned.
We look forward to the publication of the Taskforce’s Report in due course and to any recommendations made that resonate with our circumstances in Wales.