ISAR Global

Intelligence Report ISAR Global Parliamentary Intelligence Brief: Small Modular Reactors — Commitment, Evasion, and the Governance Gap in British Nuclear Policy ISAR Global • 28 February 2026 Executive Summary A comprehensive analysis of 279 parliamentary questions on the subject of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), spanning from the earliest ministerial engagement with the technology under the […]

Sixteen parliamentary questions spanning January 2025 to January 2026 reveal a government confident in its AI infrastructure narrative but noticeably reticent on measurable delivery milestones. The AI Growth Zones programme — the centrepiece of the AI Opportunities Action Plan — has progressed from expression of interest to formal application, yet ministerial responses remain dominated by aspiration rather than verified outcome. The gap between the rhetoric of global leadership and the reality of confirmed, operational infrastructure is the defining feature of this parliamentary period.

Analysis of 50 parliamentary written questions and ministerial responses spanning January 2025 to February 2026 reveals a consistent pattern of formulaic responses to AI governance questions, with ministerial accountability frequently substituted by reference to the AI Action Plan as a rhetorical anchor. Concrete implementation evidence is strongest in departmental delivery contexts — particularly the Ministry of Justice — but weakest precisely where parliamentary scrutiny is most pointed: on legislation, timelines, and regulatory architecture.