Nuclear Submarines

Tuesday 11th March 2014 Ministerial Corrections

The following is the answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Andrew Miller), following his Statement to the House on Nuclear Submarines on 6 March 2014.

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

Having worked with radiation for a number of years in my own career and having followed very closely the development of the civil nuclear programme, I fully concur with the Secretary of State’s comments on the underlying science. On level 0 events, similar events, such as moving waste material out of civilian sites, are subject to local communication. Why was there not a parallel situation in the case of Dounreay? Why were local stakeholders not involved? Will he ensure that the chief scientific adviser is given the maximum freedom, within the limits of classified information, to share scientific findings with the broadest possible group of nuclear experts?

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman can rest assured that within the circle of nuclear experts—it is quite a small circle—there has already been discussion on these issues in the past two years. There is no requirement to notify level 0 events, but we did notify the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, of course, the military nuclear regulator. It is important to note that SEPA’s primary focus is on emissions from the site—that is, what is in the discharge from the site—and there has been no measurable change in the radiation discharge. That is the important point for people living in those communities.

[Official Report, 6 March 2014, Vol. 576, c. 1085.]

An error has been identified in the answer given to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Andrew Miller) on 6 March 2014.

The correct answer should have been:

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman can rest assured that within the circle of nuclear experts—it is quite a small circle—there has already been discussion on these issues in the past two years. There is no requirement to notify level 0 events, but we did notify the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, of course, the military nuclear regulator. It is important to note that SEPA’s primary focus is on emissions from the site—that is, what is in the discharge from the site—and there has been no measurable change in the alpha-emitting particulate discharge. That is the important point for people living in those communities.