HC Deb 04 July 1977 vol 934 cc857-9
3. Mr. Rost

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what period of time he anticipates will elapse between the reports being received by him from the Nuclear Power Company and the National Nuclear Inspectorate, and his Department's decision on the choice of the nextthermal nuclear reactor.

Mr. Benn

I expect to receive the reports shortly and I shall want to study them carefully. I recognise the need for an early decision.

Mr. Rost

As the Secretary of State has now sacked his Chief Scientist, Dr. Walter Marshall, because he had been advising the right hon. Gentleman to make an early decision rather than to procrastinate about the nuclear future, can he give an assurance that he will not dismiss everybody whenever they disagree with him?

Mr. Benn

As the hon. Gentleman knows better than I, Dr. Walter Marshall's appointment as chief adviser was on the basis that he would not advise the Secre- tary of State on nuclear matters, for the reason that Sir John Hill, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Authority, is the chief nuclear adviser to the Government.

As for the reports, I am waiting for them. I commissioned them last year, and it will clearly not be possible to reach a decision until the Nuclear Inspectorate has reported on safety and until industrial companies have indicated their views.

Mr. Skeet

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that if he chooses the AGR it will have no export potential? Will he consider this point so that British industry may be safeguarded and build the appropriate type of reactors and the necessary machinery in the future?

Mr. Benn

I am aware of the campaigns going on on both sides of this argument. There is a strong campaign for the light water reactor, which has been going on for some time, based upon the export orders for other light water reactors. I am also well aware of the fact that our formidable achievements have been via the gas-cooled route, through the Magnox and gas-cooled stations. The reason why I am awaiting the reports so anxiously and am anxious to reach as early a decision as possible is that I want to have the considered view of the industry as well as the Nuclear Inspectorate on this matter.

Mr. Emery

Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that, while he drags his feet and does not go forward with further orders for a fast breeder, we are losing out to the French and others in many areas throughout the world where there are great potential earnings? Is he aware that he must come to a decision quickly?

Mr. Benn

The hon. Gentleman knows that there has been no delay whatever in the fast breeder programme. The rate of spend that I have authorised in the two years I have been Secretary of State has been sufficient to keep the fast breeder programme going. The fast breeder at Dounreay is the finest in the world, well ahead of the Phoenix which the French have built. There is no doubt in my mind that British fast breeder technology is of the highest order to be found anywhere in the world. The hon. Gentleman will also know that, following the Flowers Report, the Government issued a statement describing in detail how they would handle the question of ordering the CFR1.

Mr. Gray

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is his credibility which is at stake, because this is only one of the many decisions which he has not taken and which the public are awaiting? Has it not occurred to him that if he does not start taking decisions quickly he may find himself having a sideways move like Dr. Marshall?

Mr. Benn

My credibility would be most totally destroyed if I announced what system we should adopt before I had had the advice of the Nuclear Inspectorate, which is a statutory body, and before I had consulted the industry. That supplementary question is totally meaningless. I have received helpful advice from many people, both on the fast breeder reactor and on the thermal reactor. I have received no advice whatever, as I would expect, from the Conservative Party.