§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate how much of the £330 million will be required to provide facilities to meet the Japanese contract; whether all the plant will be located at Windscale, Cumbria; whether he accepts the view of the IAEA that nuclear plant costs have risen on a worldwide basis by between 60 and 115 per cent. in real terms during the past five years; and whether the doubling of BNFL investment announced in October 1975 is due primarily to inflation.
§ Mr. EadieThis sum will be required for the construction of oxide fuel reprocessing facilities to undertake such business for Japanese utilities and overseas customers as BNFL secures.
It is proposed that the plant will be located at Windscale.
I understand that the IAEA survey covered the costs of light water reactor power stations only. Nuclear power plant costs have in common with most large capital projects been subject to sizeable real cost increases over the past few years.
The increase in BNFL's investment is due in part to inflation but also to the increasing technical complexity over the whole range of the company's activities and the need to meet higher safety requirements.