§ Dr. Kim HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if, following the decision to withdraw major funding for the fast reactor programme at Dounreay, the Government will reconsider their continuing support for the nuclear reprocessing industry;
(2) if, following the recent announcement by the West German Government that they are to abandon their projected nuclear reprocessing facility at Wackersdorf for financial and environmental reasons, the Government will reconsider their continued support for the nuclear reprocessing industry.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerReprocessing is a proven and safe technology for which there is a continuing demand. BNFL has contracts with overseas customers for reprocessing in THORP worth some £2.77 billion in total. Additional contracts worth some £1.6 billion are being negotiated with utilities in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is for the owners of the spent fuel to decide on safety, technical and economic grounds whether to reprocess spent fuel.