§ Mr. Altonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the cost to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority of drilling 32 test boreholes in the Galloway Hills.
§ Mr. FoxI have been asked to reply.
UKAEA's application for planning permission to drill test boreholes in the Carrick Forest will be the subject of a public inquiry. If drilling were to proceed as part of the Government's research programme into the feasibility of disposing of radioactive waste underground, the cost would be borne jointly 318W by the Commission of the European Communities and by this Department on behalf of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment, for Scotland, and for Wales. It would be contrary to normal practice to reveal the estimated cost of the work before tenders have been invited.