§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place full versions of the two DEFRA reports into the economic viability of Sellafield in the Library. [77547]
§ Margaret BeckettTwo reports about the economic case for the Sellafield MOX plant, by PA Consulting and AD Little, were published by Ministers for consultation in 1999 and 2001. The published versions omitted some commercially confidential information.
In an arbitration under the terms of the OSPAR Convention, which was heard in The Hague from 21 to 25 October, Ireland is seeking full versions of the reports. The Government maintains that it is entitled to withhold commercially confidential information from the published versions of the two reports and that this did not significantly affect the ability of consultees to comment on the economic case for the plant.
The arbitral tribunal will deliver its award in due course.