Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
Main Page: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)Nuclear Research and Development
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Excerpts
Baroness Verma
My Lords, I am aware of my noble friend’s interest in other forms of disposal of civil plutonium. I can reassure him that, while we still prefer MOX, we are considering proposals from GE Hitachi and Candu to determine whether their approaches need further consideration as credible alternatives for managing the UK stockpile of plutonium.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
On a wider matter, with the refusal by Cumbria council to agree to the underground disposal of nuclear waste and the withdrawal of Centrica from the new nuclear programme, is the Government’s nuclear energy programme not in some disarray?
Baroness Verma
My Lords, the two issues are completely separate. Centrica’s withdrawal has nothing to do with confidence in nuclear; its priorities are currently different. Cumbria County Council’s decision is, of course, disappointing but we welcome the very positive votes from the borough councillors of Copeland and Allerdale, which show that there are places that are willing to go on to the next phase. It is not an indicator that nuclear is dead: it is an indicator that much more thought needs to be put into the process of how we go forward.