Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Coaker on 23 October (HL Deb col 631), what assessment they have made of the decision not to use recycled nuclear material from decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines for energy generation; and what were the technical, safety, or cost reasons behind this decision.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK does not currently have the capability to reprocess used fuel from decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines for the purpose of energy generation and to do so would require significant investment in new technology. Used naval nuclear fuel will continue to be stored safely and securely.