Firms lined up to work on EDF’s Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk say they need green light from Government by Christmas to protect 25,000 jobs
Firms lined up to work on EDF’s Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk say they need a green light from the Government by Christmas to protect 25,000 jobs.
The Sizewell C Consortium of more than 150 contractors warned of a looming ‘cliff edge’ because many firms’ work on Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset is coming to an end.
They say they cannot plan to switch workers to Sizewell until it gets government backing.
Dilemma: Contractors say they cannot plan to switch workers to Sizewell until it gets government backing
Cameron Gilmour, spokesman for the consortium, said Sizewell C will create 25,000 jobs and 1,500 apprenticeships over nine to 12 years.
He added: ‘We want a decision this side of Christmas because from a supply chain perspective, we have thousands and thousands of jobs at stake here if we don’t get that continuity from Hinkley Point C to Sizewell C.’
Last week, the Government said in documents published alongside the Spending Review that it is pursuing ‘large-scale nuclear projects’.
Further details will come in an overdue Energy White Paper. It has committed £525 million to nuclear projects, of which £100million could go to Sizewell C, led by energy giant EDF.
A Government spokesman said: ‘We intend to publish the Energy White Paper before the end of the year.’