§ 10. Sir Trevor Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made in placing orders for the Sizewell B nuclear power station.
§ Mr. ParkinsonOrders for the Sizewell B nuclear power station are a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board. I am advised by the board that as at 1 July contracts had been let to a value approaching £650 million.
§ Sir Trevor SkeetI welcome my right hon. Friend to his appointment at the Department of Energy, but I hope that he will show a great deal of enthusiasm for the nuclear industry, which is vital to the United Kingdom. Will he give us some figures for the employment that it has provided in various parts of the United Kingdom, thanks to the policy that the Government have pursued and that the nuclear industry has been able to pursue on its own?
§ Mr. ParkinsonAs my hon. Friend knows, about 20 per cent. of our electricity is supplied by nuclear power stations, and Sizewell B alone should produce an average of 10,000 jobs for the next seven years, reaching 15,000 when the contract is at its peak. It offers the prospect of many very well paid jobs and long-term security of electricity supply.
§ Mr. WilsonDoes the Minister accept that in drawing an analogy with Chernobyl he scarcely does service to the standards and safety record of the British nuclear power industry? Does he accept that in my constituency there is deep apprehension about the prospect of privatisation of nuclear power stations? Does he agree that it is bad enough to sell off the family silver, but criminally irresponsible to start flogging off the family plutonium?
§ Mr. ParkinsonThe hon. Gentleman cannot have been listening carefully to what I said to the right hon. Member for Salford, East (Mr. Orme). Safety is determined, not by whether a nuclear power station is publicly or privately owned, but by the safety code and the strength with which it is enforced. Britain has a fine record, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman will recognise that.
§ Mr. JackWill my right hon. Friend do all that he can to ensure that British Nuclear Fuels can take full advantage of the Sizewell project to compete for pressurised water fuel orders?
§ Mr. ParkinsonBritish Nuclear Fuels is a very successful company, and 80 per cent. of its business is done overseas. That represented nearly £500 million last year. It is an important export earner. It does a good job and it provides important jobs in Copeland, which the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham), who was the Opposition spokesman on the environment during the previous Parliament, recognised and supported.
§ Mr. Jack ThompsonWhat proportion of the £650 million is committed to British contractors as against Westinghouse or other American contractors?
§ Mr. ParkinsonThe overwhelming proportion of the expenditure is with British companies——
§ Mr. ThompsonHow much?
§ Mr. ParkinsonI cannot give the exact figure, but it is well in excess of £620 million of the £650 million. One order for £17 million has gone to Southern Ireland for some steel fabrication, but, apart from that, orders have been placed overwhelmingly with British companies.