§ LORD O'HAGANMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to assess the dangers of light water reactors.
§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD DRUMALBYN)My Lords, under the Nuclear Installations Acts 1965 and 1969 nuclear power stations in England and Wales must be licensed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and in Scotland by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland. They are advised on the safety of such plants by the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, who is aware of and is maintaining a continuous interest in the safety problems associated with light water reactors.
§ LORD O'HAGANMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that reply, may I ask him whether it is possible for British scientists to conduct independent examination of these reactors? May I also ask him whether it is true that the reactor proposed for Sizewell and others of this type proposed for this country will be the largest ever built, if they are built, and whether this does not reinforce the need for a stringent check on the safety of these reactors?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I see no reason at all why scientists should not individually examine the light water reactors, because there are many of them in existence—20 in the United States at present and 10 in other parts of the world. Of course, the larger the station undoubtedly the greater the care that has 458 to be taken. But I am advised that all the types of reactor on the list can be accommodated at Sizewell.
§ LORD WYNNE-JONESMy Lords, is it true that as yet the Nuclear Inspectorate have received no detailed description at all of this light water reactor?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, the first stage, obviously, is for the Secretary of State to receive advice from the Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee, which is a non-statutory body set up by the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry, and for Scotland, and whose Chairman is Sir Owen Saunders. Then there is the Nuclear Power Advisory Board which my right honourable friend recently set up with the object of choosing betwen the various types of reactor under consideration, and making a recommendation. But as I have said, whatever reactor is chosen by them would be subject to the most stringent examination by the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, and so would any components.
§ LORD TAYLOR OF MANSFIELDMy Lords, have the Government yet made any firm decision regarding the installation of these light water reactors?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNNo, my Lords. As my right honourable friend announced, the decision will be made early in the New Year.
§ LORD SLATERMy Lords, in the light of the noble Lord's reply to the Question as it appears on the Order Paper, does one take the position now to be that the miners will make application, as it were, to the Chairman of the C.E.G.B. that instead of a nuclear power station being built in a certain area, as it was in Durham, and being fed by the coal produced by that particular area to a coal-fired power station, the powers of the Chairman have been taken away and it now rests with the Minister to decide whether he wants to carry out any negotiations?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, that is an entirely different question. The miners will be able to make representations on the planning permission, and should there be an objection on planning grounds, then, of course, there will be a local inquiry.
§ LORD WYNNE-JONESMy Lords, did the noble Lord's answer to me mean that the Inspectorate have no detailed description at all of any light water reactor? Because I understand from a statement in the newspapers to-day that in evidence in another place the Inspectorate are saying that they have no details at all.
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, whether or not that is so—and I am not in a position to answer the noble Lord, Lord Wynne-Jones, on that point—the fact remains that the Chief Inspector will be brought in. He has the advantage of scientific and other experts, some 70 of them, to help him. He will be brought in at the appropriate stage, and will have to advise the Secretary of State that the particular type of reactor is safe.
§ LORD WYNNE-JONESMy Lords, does the noble Lord mean by that that no particular reactor will be accepted until it has been carefully investigated by the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, yes; I mean just that.