HL Deb 21 June 1989 vol 509 cc215-8

2.32 p.m.

Lord Hatch of Lusby asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether a public inquiry will be held into the proposed building of the Sizewell C reactor and, if so, what will be its terms of reference.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy (Baroness Hooper)

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Energy has directed the CEGB to advertise its application for his consent to construct a second PWR nuclear power station at Sizewell. Until the response to the advertisements is known it is too early to say whether a public inquiry will be necessary or what matters are likely to be relevant to my right honourable friend's consideration of the application.

Lord Hatch of Lusby

My Lords, can the noble Baroness tell the House whether it is the case that the CEGB's application will be made on Friday of this week and that only eight weeks will be allowed for objections to be addressed to the local district council? Can she also tell the House whether there is any firm intention of holding a public inquiry before any final decision is taken on Sizewell C, in the same way as at Hinkley and in the case of the previous Sizewell plant?

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, I understand that the application from the CEGB in respect of Sizewell C was made on 14th June 1989. The Secretary of State, who has a statutory obligation to give a period of at least 21 days in which objections can be made to him, has indicated that he will allow a period of three months for objections to be made. As the noble Lord will no doubt be aware, the Secretary of State will have a statutory obligation to call for a public inquiry if either of the relevant local planning authorities objects to the Sizewell C application. Even in the event that local planning authorities do not object, the Secretary of State still has the discretionary power to call for a public inquiry to be heard in the light of all the other objections received.

Lord Williams of Elvel

My Lords, what will happen after privatisation? Are we to assume that Sizewell C, as a project, will be passed over to National Power? Is it not the case that after privatisation National Power will be under an obligation under the legislation to provide a certain amount of nuclear plant capacity in order to satisfy the non-fossil fuel quota which we have been discussing in Committee? If that is the case, what will the public inquiry be about? It cannot be about whether or not there should be a plant. It cannot look at any of the options. What will it be about? Will it just be about local and environmental planning matters?

Baroness Hooper

Yes, my Lords, it is true that the obligation to proceed with the construction of the Sizewell C plant will pass to National Power after privatisation. The matters before the inquiry will depend, as always, on the objections which are raised. Until we know what those objections are it is not possible to confirm to the noble Lord, Lord Williams, exactly what matters would be discussed at a public inquiry.

Lord Renton

My Lords, will not the principal matter to be considered at the inquiry be whether the site proposed for the reactor is in every way suitable?

Baroness Hooper

Yes, indeed, my Lords. Obviously that is a major consideration. It has to comply with the requirements of Section 34 of the Electricity Act 1957. However, as I have said, the inquiry will also take into account the objections which are made by registered objectors in the period allowed.

Lord Williams of Elvel

My Lords, I am sorry to press the noble Baroness, but is she not aware that the Hinkley C inquiry covers a much wider range of issues than whether the site is the right one in the circumstances? It covers the question of whether there should be a nuclear plant anywhere in the United Kingdom at this time, given our power requirements. Am I right in understanding that if the non-fossil fuel quota is written into the Bill as at present drafted that will no longer be a subject which can be discussed by a public inquiry?

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, I believe that the noble Lord is jumping to conclusions. Certainly there will be a non-fossil fuel obligation which will require the supply companies to use a certain amount of non-fossil fuel. That will be substantially nuclear but may be provided from other renewables. Unfortunately from the Government's point of view, there is no foregone conclusion that that will embrace the fourth of the projected PWR plants. There are many other possibilities for nuclear generation if it is borne in mind that our aim is to cover the gap that would be left by the phasing out of the Magnox stations by the beginning of the next century.

Lord Harmar-Nicholls

My Lords, can my noble friend confirm that, whatever commitments may follow the so-called obligation, local authorities in the areas concerned will still have powers to give their views as to what should happen in the development of the site?

Baroness Hooper

Yes, indeed, my Lords. That is part of the statutory obligation imposed on the Secretary of State.

The Earl of Halsbury

My Lords, will the noble Baroness bear in mind the total destruction of the life of a rural county such as Suffolk caused by the building of plants A, B and C in succession? The unfortunate inhabitants of the district of Saxmundham—where my daughter happens to live—have had their communications totally disrupted. Does the noble Baroness agree that while it may make good sense to site a B next to an A to follow it up with a C is asking a lot of the local inhabitants?

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, I take the point made by the noble Earl. Nevertheless, the application made by the CEGB has been accompanied by an environmental statement, and the environmental information must therefore form part of the considerations which the Secretary of State will take into account.

Lord Peston

My Lords, will the noble Baroness clarify her answer to my noble friend Lord Williams of Elvel? Will it be within the remit of the public inquiry that it would be able to report that the Sizewell C reactor should not be built?

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, as I understand the rules applying to a public inquiry, the answer must be, "yes, my Lords".

Lord Hatch of Lusby

My Lords, is the noble Baroness satisfied that three months is sufficient for the organisation of objections in the area? Am I not correct in thinking that the period for Wylfa B is four months? Is either three months or four months sufficient for local objections to be organised? Further to the point made by my two noble friends on the Front Bench, would it not be sensible to delay any decision on Sizewell C until the report of the public inquiry at Hinkley is published? Obviously, that has a direct bearing on whether or not there should be a third reactor at Sizewell.

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, there were a number of supplementaries there. I believe that the time allowed for objections to be registered for Wylfa B and Sizewell C is three months. But, going back in history, in the case of Sizewell B, no time limit was specified for objections because the Government had announced in advance that a public inquiry would be held since that was the first of the four planned PWRs. As for Hinkley C, the time allowed to register objections was four months.

Lord Orr-Ewing

My Lords, will my noble friend bear in mind that those of us who are anxious about the environment—presumably, that includes most of the Green Party, at least those who are not members of CND—would like to see modern nuclear power stations brought into operation sooner rather than later? In that way, the fossil fuels that contaminate our atmosphere to such a considerable extent can be progressively reduced and we can become more reliant on nuclear fuel which does not contaminate the atmosphere in any way at all.

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, we are certainly very concerned about the environmental consequences of fossil fuel burning. Nevertheless, we are no less concerned about the need to ensure security of supply. The Government believe that new nuclear capacity is necessary to replace the Magnox stations that will be phased out by the year 2000.

The Earl of Halsbury

My Lords, if I may be permitted a second supplementary, will the noble Baroness consult the evidence given to Sub-Committee F by, I believe, a spokesman for Electricité de France? When asked why France has streaked ahead with nuclear power until it is 70 per cent. nuclear, he replied, "Because we do not have committees of inquiry like Sizewell B".

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, I shall certainly note that recommendation and draw it to the attention of my right honourable friend.

Lord Campbell of Alloway

My Lords, will my noble friend the Minister confirm that the planning aspect of this public inquiry is sufficient to deal with the question raised by the noble Lord, Lord Peston, as to whether the reactor should be built, and the environmental question raised by my noble friend Lord Orr-Ewing?

Baroness Hooper

Yes, my Lords. As I understand it, the relevant planning regulations come under the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 with respect to deemed planning consent. As I have said, the environmental factors are now required as a result of the European Community directive on environmental impact. The environmental statement has already been made, has accompanied the application and will be published.

Lord Hatch of Lusby

My Lords, perhaps the noble Baroness will answer the second question that I asked her, which I am sure that she forgot. Will any decision be made on Sizewell C before the report on Hinkley is published?

Baroness Hooper

My Lords, as I said, the noble Lord asked a variety of supplementaries on the previous occasion. It is too soon to say. The Hinkley C inquiry is certainly not completed. I think that it is unlikely that the report will be received within the three-month period, although there is always likely to be a time lag between the end of the three-month period and the start of the new inquiry for processing objections. I can give the noble Lord no assurance that there will be no public inquiry before the Hinkley C report has been received.