§ Mr. Warbeyasked the Paymaster-General whether he will direct an investigation into the costings on which the contracts for the building of atomic power stations are based, in view of the wide disparity between the cost of approximately £145 per kilowatt installed capacity for the two stations ordered by the Central Electricity Authority and the station ordered by the South Scotland Electricity Board.
§ Mr. MaudlingNo. Nor can I accept the implication contained in the latter part of the Question In their consideration of tenders the Electricity Authorities can be relied on to carry out any cost investigations required.
§ Mr. Warbeyasked the Paymaster-General to what extent the 19 atomic power stations to be constructed under the new programme will be in place of coal or oil-fired stations which had formed part of the pre-existing programme of the Central Electricity Authority and the Scottish electricity boards.
§ Mr. MaudlingThe construction of the 19 nuclear power stations, as announced in the revised nuclear power programme, will not result in the cancellation of any contracts relating to the pre-existing development programmes of the electricity authorities for the next five years.