To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the relative effectiveness in minimising exposure to radiation according to the as low as reasonably achievable principle of (a) dry storage of spent advanced gas-cooled reactor fuel followed by direct disposal of (b) reprocessing spent fuel followed by deep disposal of high-level and intermediate-level waste.

One of the objectives of the Government's policy for radioactive waste management is that the exposure to ionising radiation shall be reduced to levels which are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), social and economic factors being taken into account. It is for the owners of the spent fuel or their agents to put forward their proposals for dealing with it, and to demonstrate to Government regulatory agencies that the ALARA principle is being met.