Mr. John David Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress there has been in the plans for a joint heat and power scheme for Belfast; whether Belfast is still one of Her Majesty's Government's main prospects for such a programme; whether the Joint Venture for Belfast Combined Heat and Power receives state assistance; what are the implications of the possible dismantling by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive of the Cromac district housing scheme in Belfast; and if he will make a statement on the future of combined heat and power in Belfast.
§ Dr. BoysonNorthern Ireland is included in the national programme of studies on the potential for combined heat and power in the United Kingdom, responsibility for which rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy. Under the national programme the Belfast joint venture will receive a grant of £250,000 towards the cost of conducting a study on the feasibility of implementing CHP in Belfast. I understand that the joint venture expects to submit a prospectus for CHP in Belfast to the Department of Energy early in the spring of 1987. I also understand that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive is consulting its tenants served by the Cromac district heating scheme; until this consultation has been completed no formal proposal for the future of the scheme can be made to the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland.