The inaugural meeting of the First Minister’s Hinkley Point C Stakeholder Reference Group was held on 20 July 2020.
Members present:
- Jane Davidson (Chair)
- Professor Roger Falconer
- Dr Rhoda Ballinger
- Dr Justin Gwynn
- Dr Huw Brunt
- Rachel Sharp
- Dr James Robinson
Also present:
- Mark Drakeford MS, First Minister
- John Howells
- Wyn Roberts (secretariat)
The inaugural meeting of the First Minister’s Hinkley Point C Stakeholder Reference Group was held on 20 July 2020. The Group has been established by the First Minister to provide stakeholder views on an ‘as and when’ basis, in relation to the development of the new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point as detailed in a recent Written Statement.
The Group is chaired by Jane Davidson (Chair), Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of Wales Trinity St David and all nominated members were in attendance. The meeting was also attended by the First Minister Mark Drakeford MS who provided the background to why he sought to establish the Group and provided some thoughts on a range of issues on that the Group may wish to consider.
He was conscious of the scale and potential impact of the Hinckley Point C development on Wales and was anxious that the group should feel able to offer advice to the Welsh Government reflecting this. This included a wide range of economic, diplomatic and environmental matters that were not devolved but on which the Welsh Government might wish to make representations to the relevant authorities.
The Group discussed a number of related environmental matters of interest within the Severn Estuary. It was agreed that consideration of these would need to be prioritised both from the perspective of their immediacy and their potential relevance to the Group’s remit as it relates to Hinkley Point C.
The Group also discussed its terms of reference and agreed that the agenda for future meetings along with a short note of the meeting notes would be published electronically along with a list of attendees. A dedicated e-mail address would also be set up in order that members of the public or interested groups could communicate with the Group and raise issues of concern.
The Group agreed that its next meeting should be on 24 August 2020.