| New chairman welcomes industry to summer party | | Print | |
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New Chairman Martin O’Neill welcomed industry, politicians and media to his inaugural Summer drinks reception with a rallying call for nuclear to help “get the message across” to government and the general public. Lord O’Neill was speaking at the new NIA event at the Royal Society where he also welcomed new Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Rt Hon John Hutton MP, to his new role in front of a packed audience of more than 150 invited guests. He said that even if no nuclear reactors were to be built in the UK, the industry faced a huge challenge both in terms of technological issues and key messages to the outside world. “It’s fair to say we have a message we need to get across to the government. We need to underline why nuclear is attractive and that there is now a fantastic demand for nuclear skills across the world. We need to communicate that we will be left in a lengthy queue for new kit we cannot now manufacture here.” Lord O’Neill said the industry should help the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the planning process wherever possible and said he was confident that any UK new build could be built to time and budget. “I am privileged to be chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association. The NIA has done much to help the industry attain higher profile and we are anxious to coordinate and assist where we can and try to ensure as an industry we all sing from the same hymn sheet.” John Hutton said the nuclear industry had an important role to play in the UK economy and said the nuclear consultation was hugely important as a genuine process to let key stakeholders have their say. “The nuclear industry is an incredibly important part of the UK’s manufacturing industry and essential in helping us meet our climate change obligations and in providing us with security of supply.” “The government has taken a preliminary view on nuclear – when it comes to security of supply any government has to take this extremely seriously. But we must have a thorough and robust consultation on this issue and include all views on this subject, and we are determined to do that. This is a very important moment for the country,” he said. |
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