UK Aims To Be ‘World’s Best’ For Services Such As Nuclear, Says Minister
Written by NucNet
Wednesday, 04 March 2009
The UK government is committed to making the country “the best place in the world” for the production of civil nuclear technology, a senior minister said tonight.
Lord Peter Mandelson, the secretary of state (chief minister) for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, said in a speech in London: “We've regulated in this country to drive the demand for low carbon goods and services. Now we need to think about supply, making the UK the best place in the world to build a low carbon business, develop civil nuclear technology or recruit expertise in energy efficiency or low carbon finance.”
Lord Mandelson said talks would start later in the week with his colleague Ed Miliband, the UK’s minister for energy and climate change, on “how we do this through a low carbon industrial strategy”.
“We have a private enterprise culture in the UK that recognises the need to reward entrepreneurship, innovation and hard work – that provide opportunities for individuals to succeed, regardless of where they come from. We’re successful because of our strong commitment to Britain’s economic place in the EU, which is the context for everything we do to equip the UK for globalisation,” Lord Mandelson said.
“We need a Europe with a competitive single market at its heart, that is open to trade and investment,” he added.
In December 2008, a consultation document on nuclear reactor designs for potential development in the UK was published by the government.
