§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, beyond a certain level of liability, the taxpayer would become responsible for damages due to the operation of the THORP reprocessing plant; whether the taxpayers' liability is being taken into account in cost benefit analyses being conducted by the Treasury; and whether they will publish the figures.
§ Baroness Denton of WakefieldCertain damages, beyond the £20 million limit of operators' liability,96WA under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 as amended, would be paid by the Government in the event of an accident. No payment by the Government has ever been required under the Act.
Neither British Nuclear Fuels plc nor the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate would allow THORP to operate unless they were completely satisfied as to the level of safety at the plant. Against this background, the risk of a severe accident there is extremely remote. Accordingly, such a risk is not material to the overall economics of THORP.