asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will bring in legislation to establish a public corporation charged with the duty of constructing a Severn barrage for the generation of electricity on the lines set out in the Bondi report, with power to raise capital from public and private sources and a duty to conserve the environment and advance the amenity of the area.

I shall very shortly announce the Government's decision on the recommendations of Sir Hermann Bondi's committee.

Is it not a fact that the Bondi committee, of which I had the privilege of being a member, reported more than two years ago, that the House has been repeatedly promised a statement, and that the difficulty seems to be finance? Are not my suggestions useful and constructive?

I accept that the hon. Gentleman made his suggestions with the best intentions. He will be aware that considerable consultation has taken place. I assure him that he will not have to wait much longer for a statement.

Will my right hon. Friend ensure that he has examined all possible schemes for a Severn barrage, because there are other, smaller schemes, which are therefore more viable and better able to be financed by the private sector?

I appreciate the amount of local interest in this and other schemes. I assure my hon. Friend that the Government have been considering a wide range committee's report. They include some interesting proposals from private sector financial interests on which several discussions have taken place.

Is the Minister aware that the constant delay in a decision on the barrage is causing other decisions to be delayed? The important issue of a second crossing for the Severn is of great concern to both sides of the channel, and that will be affected by the decision made on the barrage. I hope that the Minister will come to the House very soon with an announcement.

I can only reiterate what I said to the hon. Member for Bristol, North-East (Mr. Palmer), that a statement will be made in the near future.

Does the Minister agree that there has been inordinate delay over this scheme? Would it not be better to push the scheme ahead, as it would provide 8,000MW of electricity at relatively low cost, instead of proceeding with the highly expensive pressurised water reactor?

The hon. Gentleman must realise that the barrage would make a limited contribution to the base load capacity, equivalent to about one nuclear power station of perhaps 1GW, because tidal flows do not coincide with peak demand. The main benefit would be in the saving of fossil fuel.