§ Mr. Masonasked the Prime Minister whether a decision has yet been reached to adopt the planned homogeneous aqueous reactor at the Winfrith Heath Centre as a joint project with the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation.
§ The Prime MinisterIt has been decided on technical grounds that the homogeneous aqueous reactor system would not at present be suitable for a major research and development effort, either by the Atomic Energy Authority alone or as a joint programme under the European Nuclear Energy Agency.
Discussions are now in progress in the Agency about a joint research programme on the high temperature gas-cooled reactor, a system which holds considerable promise for the generation of power but has not yet been investigated in detail. This would include the construction of an experimental reactor in the United Kingdom. I hope that a satisfactory agreement will be concluded in the next few months.