asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what legislation will be necessary before industrial final storage sites for high-level radioactive waste can be prepared and the corresponding installations constructed;(2) what legislation will be necessary before experimental storage sites for highlevel radioactive waste could be prepared and the corresponding installations constructed.

The White Paper "Nuclear Power and the Environment", Cmnd. 6820, describes the new joint responsibility of myself and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, for radioactive waste management policy. Paragraph 15 of the White Paper said that consideration was being given to the question whether further statutory powers in addition to, for example, those in the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 would be necessary to help in the carrying out of this responsibility.