§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what economic appraisal he has made of the additional energy costs to British industry which would result from an extension of the moratorium in gas generation approvals after spring 2000. [69180]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 4 February 1999]: As set out in paragraph 10.18 of the October 1998 White Paper, "Conclusions of The Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation and Government response to fourth and fifth Reports of the Trade and Industry Committee" (Cm 4071), the Government do not consider that the stricter policy on consents for gas-fired power stations will have an adverse impact on competitiveness. This conclusion will remain valid, both before and after Spring 2000, if the conditions for relaxing the policy have not been met.