To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's expected contribution to the costs of decommissioning the Windscale piles and associated chimneys; and what is the total estimated cost of this operation.

My Department is making a contribution of 91·5 per cent. towards the costs incurred in decommissioning the Windscale piles and associated chimneys. Work currently being undertaken constitutes the intial stages of a programme which is expected to take at least 50 years to complete. It is, therefore, too early to determine the likely total cost.