HC Deb 21 January 1997 vol 288 cc579-80W
Dr. David Clark

To ask the Prime Minister how much money to date has been paid to the Australian Government in compensation for the nuclear testing carried out by the United Kingdom in the 1950s; what

The figures for suffragan and full-time assistant bishops' houses show half of the total expenditure on periodical outgoings e.g. rates, insurance and repairs, the other half of which were borne by dioceses.

The figures for bishops' administrative costs include their working expenses and staff salaries and pensions, as well as support for the archbishops' appointments secretary, the clergy appointments adviser, the archbishops' adviser for bishops' ministry and the bishops' officer for urban priority areas.

work Her Majesty's Government are currently carrying out with the Australian authorities in this area; and if he will make a statement. [11455]

The Prime Minister

No such compensation has been paid. In 1968, Australia signed an agreement with the UK confirming that the clean-up of all test sites had been completed satisfactorily. However, in the interests of wider Anglo-Australian relations, in 1993, the UK agreed to make an ex gratia payment of £20 million, and now regards the matter as closed.