§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of the President of the Board of Trade of 9 December,Official Report, column 389, if he will estimate the total liabilities to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in respect of pre-1971 programmes; what have been the total payments made so far as a result of these liabilities; and what further payments are planned within the next public expenditure plan period.
§ Mr. FreemanSince 1988 to the end of the financial year 1993–94 the Department has paid £365 million in respect of these payments. An estimate of the payment for this financial year is some £50 million. The payments estimated for the next public plan period amount to about £250 million over the next three years.
The estimated total value of pre-1971 waste management and decommissioning liabilities to BNFL and AEA extending well into the next century is in the order of £2 billion.