Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if it is her Department's normal practice to write off the capital cost of construction of a plant when considering its future viability; and what assessment she has made of the adoption of this practice by PA Consulting in its report on the MOX plant at Sellafield. [28279]
§ Mr. BattleResponsibility for determining policy of the accounting treatment of fixed assets rests with the Board of British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). The report by PA Consulting to which the hon. Member refers was commissioned by the Environment Agency as part of its consideration of the business case for the Sellafield MOX plant following BNFL's application to operate the plant. It is for the Agency to decide whether to accept the advice in the PA report.
Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will call in the plan to operate a MOX plant at Sellafield. [28275]
§ Mr. BattleMy right hon Friend has no powers to call in the application by BNFL for the commissioning and operation of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Plant at its Sellafield site. The Environment Agency is currently conducting a further public consultation on this application. It is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions to decide whether to call it in for his decision.