Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 17 May 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 May 2005. It was answered by Malcolm Wicks (Labour) on Monday, 23 May 2005 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Nuclear Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public expenditure on matters relating to the nuclear industry there has been since 1 May 1997; and what estimate he has made of future identified public liabilities in respect of existing activities.

Answer: The following documents, which are in the public domain, provide information on the outturn of the Department's expenditure on matters relating to the nuclear industry from 1 April 1997:"Trade and Industry Government Expenditure Plans from 1998–99 to 2003–04;""Trade and Industry Departmental Report for 2003 and 2004;""Department of Trade and Industry Consolidated Resource Accounts from 1999–2000 to 2003–04."As part of the Government's Spending Review 2004 the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority received a budget of approximately £2.2 billion for 2005–06 about half of which depends on receipts from commercial activities.The 2002 Energy White Paper ‘Managing the Nuclear Legacy: A Strategy for Action' set the public liability estimate for the nuclear legacy at £50 billion (undiscounted) while acknowledging that there was considerable uncertainty around the figure. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority which assumed responsibility from 1 April 2005 for discharging the nuclear legacy accepted that figure in its first Annual Plan. A key task now for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is to review that estimate carefully to reduce uncertainty and work on that is now under way with a view to publication in December. In the short run, better estimating will almost certainly mean that the estimate will rise. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority maintain the most recent estimate on their website (nda.gov.uk).

Secondary information