§ 16. Mr. Laneasked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the implications for public safety of current and likely future developments in nuclear power in Great Britain.
§ Mr. BennThe safety control of nuclear installations exercised by the Health and Safety Executive under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 will continue to provide the necessary safeguards for current and future developments in nuclear power.
§ Mr. LaneAs there is continuing uneasiness, much of it, I believe, unjustified, will the Government give a higher priority not only to speeding up the nuclear programme but to reassuring the public about its safety aspects?
§ Mr. BennThere is public interest in nuclear power and I do not think that it should be dismissed. Nor should the matter be resolved simply by the intensification of information on one side or the 21 other. What we want is for people to be aware of the nature of the nuclear programme and what is involved. There should be much more openness in the publication of information, and people should have the opportunity of knowing more about it when they put forward their viewpoint. That is the policy I aim to pursue.
§ Mr. PalmerIs my right hon. Friend satisfied with the progress being made in the construction of the first of the steam generating heavy water reactors at Size-well, in Suffolk?
§ Mr. BennI have taken the opportunity of having a report made to me about all parties concerned, including the Board, the AEA, the NNC, and so on, and I am satisfied that the work is going on at a proper pace. It is a very big project, to implement the policy decision reached in the summer of 1974. I am not anxious to hasten it beyond the speed that those concerned think to be appropriate.