HC Deb 25 February 1980 vol 979 c427W
Mr. Field

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if any of the enriched uranium produced at Capenhurst will be used for nuclear weapons.

Mr. Pym

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Mr. Critchley) on 15 January 1980.—[Vol. 976, c. 712–13.]

Mr. Field

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what statutory procedures exist for public objections to the new developments at Capenhurst; how long the new development will take to build; and who will own and be responsible for the new plant.

Mr. Pym

The proposal for a new defence plant at Capenhurst, like all such proposals by Government Departments, is the subject of non-statutory consultation with the local planning authority to whom objections can be put forward. The new plant is expected to come into service in the mid-1980s. It will be owned by the Ministry of Defence and operated by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.

Mr. Field

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost of building the next extension at Capenhurst; and if this cost will form part of the Government's estimated budget of £4,000 million to £5,000 million allocated to maintaining the nuclear forces.

Mr. Pym

It is not normal practice to reveal the cost of constructing individual defence plants.

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