§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will make a statement on progress with the pressurised water reactor design.
§ Mr. David HowellI am anxious that work on the development of the design for the first British pressurised water reactor should proceed as quickly as possible, consistent with fully meeting United Kingdom safety requirements. The Government also wish to see more use made of the advice and experience on PWR technology available front Bechtel, Westinghouse and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
The project has now reached a point where many complicated and technical decisions must be made. In the light both of this and of my wish to see rapid progress, the National Nuclear Corporation and the Central Electricity Generating Board have advised me that a joint task force should be established, combining the resources of NNC, CEGB and UKAEA. Dr. Walter Marshall, chairman of the UKAEA, will act as chairman of the task force.
I welcome this proposal and will look to the task force to ensure that firm design proposals are developed as soon as possible for endorsement by the CEGB and NNC 374W boards, and that more use is made of the advice of Bechtel and Westinghouse. I have asked Dr. Marshall to keep me fully informed on progress on the design.