Nuclear Generation: Policy Review (Hansard, 13 January 1994)

§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Strathclyde)
My Lords, the Government have received a considerable number of representations both on the areas which the nuclear review should cover and on the way it should be conducted. The Government are carefully considering those representations as part of their preparatory work on the review and will announce the terms of reference as soon as possible.

§ Lord Tombs
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. However, does he agree that the importance of the topic in economic and environmental terms, coupled with the strong feelings that the subject always arouses, point to the need for an authoritative and open inquiry designed to secure the widest possible acceptance?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, I entirely agree with the noble Lord. That is why it has taken so long to come to a conclusion on the terms of reference.

§ Lord Jenkins of Putney
My Lords, in view of the fact that the question of the development of THORP is likely to form part of the review that the Government will be holding—and certainly representations on the subject are likely to come before them—would it not be possible, even at this late stage, to defer putting THORP into operation until after the review has taken place?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, it would be nice if I could answer the noble Lord in a positive way; but, of course, I cannot do so because the terms of reference have not yet been decided.

§ Lord Gray of Contin
My Lords, will my noble friend remind his colleagues when they are coming to a 226 conclusion on the matter that the nuclear industry now rivals the oil industry as a job provider in the country and that, at present, there are in the region of 50,000 people employed either directly or indirectly in the nuclear industry? Will he further remind them that approval in due course of Sizewell C would provide a further 20,000 jobs?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, it is precisely because of the importance of the nuclear industry that the Government are receiving representations from so many people on how the terms of reference should be set up.

§ Viscount Hanworth
My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that there are really no other alternatives in the immediate future for providing the energy that we need, except by way of nuclear power, and that whatever people may say it is the cleanest way of doing so?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, no doubt those will be the kind of questions that the review will be able to answer.

The Earl of Haisbury
My Lords, can the Minister say who will be eligible to give evidence to the committee? For example, would I as a party to the building of nuclear power stations be eligible to do so?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, at present many letters have been received by my department from MPs, various organisations, private companies, public concerns, environmentalists and individuals. Of course, there would be nothing wrong in the noble Earl being part of those representations.

§ Viscount Caldecote
My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the damage being caused to the nuclear industry—that is, to both generators and constructors—by the long delay? Further, will he do all he can to expedite the completion of the review and its publication?

§ Lord Strathclyde
Yes, my Lords; everyone would like the terms of reference to be decided upon as soon as possible.

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
My Lords, I am not quite clear as to why the review is taking place. Will it be affected in any way by the court decision today—won, I think, by Greenpeace and the Cheshire County Council—which insists that there should be a public inquiry before the THORP plant opens?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, that review is an entirely different review and is not connected with this Question.

§ Lord Morris of Castle Morris
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the review, whenever it takes place, will look at the use to which the £1.35 billion, received by Nuclear Electric through the nuclear levy paid by every electricity consumer, has been put? Is he aware that that money, which was intended to be used for inherited liabilities such as decommissioning. reprocessing and waste disposal, is instead used by Nuclear Electric to subsidise current operations and to compete unfairly against other fuels?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, I shall make sure that the representations which the noble Lord has just made are fed into the review process.

§ Lord Ezra
My Lords, will the Minister indicate whether the terms of reference will be sufficiently widely drawn for a broad review of energy policy to take place, in particular with regard to the electricity industry because that is linked with the nuclear industry? Will he bear in mind that I understand that there is a possibility that the electricity industry may be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission? Would it not be extremely difficult if two similar reviews were to take place at the same time?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, it is because of the delicate balancing nature of such questions that the Government are taking their time in deciding what should be the terms of reference.

§ Lord Monkswell
My Lords, bearing in mind that the nuclear power industry has at its foundation the production of material for nuclear weapons, and bearing in mind also the stated objective of the two largest nuclear powers in the world to abolish and get rid of nuclear weapons by the end of the century, will the Government take those factors into account in their review?

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, I repeat that the terms of reference are still to be decided. Yet again, that is one of the representations that I shall feed into the process.