§ Mr. Allan StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he proposes to exercise his powers under section 97 and schedule 12 of the Electricity Act 1989.
§ Mr. RifkindI have today placed in the Library a copy of an agreement under section 97 and schedule 12 of the Electricity Act 1989 entered into with Scottish Nuclear Ltd. to provide assistance towards qualifying expenditure in respect of certain back-end costs of the nuclear cycle. The agreement relieves SNL of some of its inherited liabilities in relation to the generation of electricity by Magnox stations of up to £716 million by 1994. The qualifying expenditure to which the agreement relates will be incurred by the company over a period which is likely to exceed 100 years from the present. It is not therefore expected that payment of grant under the agreement will be made for some years.