Having reached the position that nuclear has a future role, we have developed a proposal for a policy framework under which developers will be able to make proposals for new nuclear build. We are seeking views on this proposal:

A policy framework (including a nuclear "statement of need") in which national strategic and regulatory issues are most appropriately discussed through processes other than the planning inquiry.

The planning inquiry should focus on the relationship between the proposal and the local plans, and local environmental impacts.  The inquiry should weigh up these local issues alongside the national strategic or regulatory material considerations, which will already have been established. The inquiry should also examine the local benefits of the development and how specific local impacts of the construction and operation of the plant can be minimised.

It is our intention that the framework will be published in a forthcoming White Paper.