§ Dr. Twinnasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the date when the report of the Sizewell inquiry will he submitted to him.
§ Mr. Peter Walker[pursuant to the reply, 19 November 1985, c. 101]: I now have the advice of the inspector on when he expects to deliver to me his report on the Sizewell B public inquiry.
Sir Frank Layfield has recently reviewed progress to date and what remains to be done. The inquiry over which he presided was the longest ever planning inquiry in this country; it sat for 340 days and received as evidence some 5,000 documents. It dealt with an extremely complex set of issues and Sir Frank envisages that his report will contain over 100 chapters.
The inspector has assured me that he has been provided with all the resources that were required for the work that had to be done up to now. He has discussed with the assessors arrangements that can now be made to assist him in the final stages of the work on the complex nuclear safety issues in particular. I will, of course, facilitate those arrangements so that the report can be completed as soon as possible.
The inspector has told me that, on that basis, he now hopes to deliver his report to me in September. When I receive it, I intend to reach my decisions on the inspector's report as soon as I possibly can.
Arrangements are already in hand for my Department to have available the resources that will be required for an urgent examination of the report.