asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Central Electricity Generating Board will either own or operate the six new pressurised water reactor power stations which the Secretary of State for Energy announced on 3rd November will be needed to meet increasing demand by the end of the century?

Security of electricity supply is one of the Government's major strategic objectives. The nuclear programme ensures diversity in electricity generation and so makes a substantial contribution to that security. This is one of the major reasons why the Government are committed to a nuclear programme and will remain so. Proposals for the structure of the industry after privatisation and the means for ensuring a continuing role for the nuclear programme are being developed; decisions have not yet been taken.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they reconcile their refusal on 22nd February 1984 to endorse anxieties expressed in debate about the ageing element in the Central Electricity Generating Board's generating capacity (cols. 828–9) and the possibility of blackouts with their admission on 3rd November 1987 that "a failure of supply is a fundamental threat" (HC debates, col. 806)?

It was true to say in 1984 that for the next few years the CEGB would have surplus capacity. That surplus is now being reduced by the retirement of generating plant and growth in electricity demand. Since the close of the Sizewell Inquiry in March 1985 the CEGB has revised its estimates of future generating requirements, and now foresees a need for an additional 13 Gigawatts of capacity by the year 2000. It plans to meet this need by building 6 PWRs (including Sizewell) and 4 large coal-fired power stations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will identify the eight-year period referred to by the Secretary of State for Energy during which no new power station was ordered?

The eight-year period in question was between 1979, when investment approval was granted to the CEGB for an Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR) at Heysham 2, and 1987, when Section 2 consent and investment approval was granted to the CEGB for a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) at Sizewell B.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many male and female prisoners have been held in police custody on every night since 1st September 1987 because of the current overcrowding in Her Majesty's prisons.

The number of male and female prisoners held in police custody in England and Wales on each night from 1st September onwards was as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What conclusions they have reached concerning the need for a broader approach towards controlling inputs of the most dangerous substances to the aquatic environment.

The Government have been giving careful consideration to the proposals made in the 15th Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (Session 1984–85), and in particular to the Committee's view that EC member states should work towards a unified approach to controlling discharges of dangerous substances, which would involve both meeting prescribed quality standards in the receiving waters and minimising discharges from individual sources. A similar view was expressed in the recent report on the Pollution of Rivers and Estuaries by the House of Commons Select Committee on the Environment. Ministers from participating countries also agreed to work towards developing such an approach at the 1984 ministerial conference on the North Sea at Bremen.The Government agree that EC member states should seek to develop a unified approach to the control of the most dangerous substances, whose long-term effects on the environment are uncertain. We propose to do so in the United Kingdom.The Government consider that the main elements of the unified approach in this country should be:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the purpose of the review of driver testing arrangements and whether they have yet had its findings.

The aim of the review was to find ways of improving the driver testing service without prejudicing its integrity. My right honourable friend is determined to cut the queues for tests; to reduce the wastage of resources implicit in a failure rate of over 50 per cent; and, to end the situation in which candidates—the customers—cannot get through to booking sections on the telephone.The report has just been submitted. It proposed a strategy for immediate action to cut waiting times quickly and a package of longer-term measures to improve the standard of candidates coming for test and hence increase the pass rate. Provided these improvements can be delivered, my right honourable friend is inclined to accept the review's general conclusion that the best way forward would be to build on the current system rather than privatise driver testing. He has accordingly asked for an action plan to be formulated as a matter of priority.