Part of the debate – in the House of Lords am 11:37 am ar 28 Mehefin 2018.
Lord Henley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
11:37,
28 Mehefin 2018
My Lords, with the leave of the House, I should like to repeat an Answer to an Urgent Question given in Another place by my Honourable Friend the Minister for Universities and Science. The Answer is as follows:
“The Business Secretary is in north Wales in Trawsfynydd at this moment launching the nuclear sector deal. The industrial strategy sets out how long-term partnerships between the Government and industry can create significant opportunities to boost productivity, employment, innovation and skills. We committed to agree sector deals with industries that put forward ambitious proposals to boost productivity and earning power in their sector. The Government are today launching the nuclear sector deal, the fifth in a series of deals as part of our industrial strategy.
I should like to take the opportunity to praise the long-standing support and work of the predecessor of the Right Honourable gentleman, the noble Lord, Lord Hutton of Furness, who has helped facilitate the deal today from industry’s side.
The nuclear sector in the UK is an economic powerhouse currently equivalent in scale to the aerospace industry. It provides highly skilled, long-term employment for 87,500 people and is a driver of regional growth. Nuclear generation currently provides more than 20% of the UK’s electricity supply and its low-carbon reliable baseload power complements the growing renewable portfolio that is enabling the UK to reduce CO2 emissions in line with our commitments.
The nuclear sector deal announces a package of measures to support the sector as we develop low-carbon nuclear power and continue to clean up our nuclear legacy. This deal is about government and industry working in partnership to drive competitiveness across the nuclear sector. We will use this set of initial actions as a platform for future collaboration and investment in the sector.
The Government have notified Parliament of today’s deal by means of a Written Ministerial Statement, and have deposited a copy of the sector deal in the Libraries of both Houses. This is a good day for the nuclear industry and a good day for Wales, where we are focusing on small modular reactors that can help Wales become a world leader in the sector”.
Right Honourable is a form of address used within the House of Commons, for members of the Privy Council. Members of the person’s own party will refer to them as ‘My Right Honourable Friend, the member for [constituency]’. Members of other parties will refer to them as ‘The Right Honourable Lady/Gentleman, the member for [constituency]’. The Privy Council consists of, among others, Cabinet ministers and a number of junior ministers as well as former office holders.
During a debate members of the House of Commons traditionally refer to the House of Lords as 'another place' or 'the other place'.
Peers return the gesture when they speak of the Commons in the same way.
This arcane form of address is something the Labour Government has been reviewing as part of its programme to modernise the Houses of Parliament.
When speaking in the House of Commons, an MP will refer to an MP of the same party as "My Honourable Friend".
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
