To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what effect he expects the reduction in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s budget for (a) 2007-08 and (b) the following three years to have on the timescales for decommissioning nuclear sites. (143337)

There has been no reduction in funding for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The settlement for 2007-08 enables the NDA to operate a programme budget of some £2.47 billion, giving the NDA and its contractors the certainty they need without impacting on the planned programme of nuclear clean up work. The NDA’s funding in respect of the Comprehensive Spending Review period (2008-09 to 2010-11) is under discussion and will be settled in the autumn.