Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, in view of the lack of confidence expressed by the Central Electricity Generating Board in reprocessing spent fuel from advanced gas cooled reactors at Sellafield, and of the Central Electricity Generating Board's plans to build alternative dry storage facilities at Heysham, he will reconsider the Thorp project; and whether, if cancellation costs are not prohibitive, he will take a decision now to cancel Thorp.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe future of THORP is already assured. British Nuclear Fuels plc has contracts valued at some £4 billion and is negotiating with utilities in the Federal Republic of Germany for additional contracts, worth some £1–6 billion, which will help to guarantee the future of the plant well into the next century. The decision on whether to submit a planning application for a dry buffer store at Heysham is a matter for the CEGB.