Written question asked by Mark Tami (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 April 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 10 April 2014. It was answered by Michael Fallon (Conservative) on Monday, 28 April 2014 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Dounreay

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the estimated value of the contract of Dounreay Site Restoration was at the time of the award in April 2012; what the estimated savings to the public purse were; what the estimated value of the contract is to date; and what the estimated savings to the public purse are to date.

Answer: The estimated Target Cost at the time of contract award in 2012 was approximately £1.5 billion in 2012-13 money values. It covered all of the scope in the Dounreay Lifetime Plan to bring the site to its Interim End State which was capable of definition at the time of tender; it excluded scope that was not capable of definition at the bid stage. The contract contained provisions for change control for new scope and also for indexation for inflation. The Target Cost at 31 March 2014 is £1.7 billion. The estimated saving to the public purse arising from the Preferred Bidder's target costs compared to the extant Lifetime Plan was, and remains, well in excess of £1 billion.

Secondary information