Nuclear Safeguards Bill

Debate between Lord Rooker and Lord Northbrook

Committee: 1st sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Thursday 22nd February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Northbrook (Con)]

My Lords, I apologise to the House for not being able to take part at Second Reading. I have some sympathy with the intent behind these amendments. I will not go over the very interesting responses last night to the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath; I would just like to make a few brief comments.

A report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee in other place states:

“We conclude the Government should seek to retain as close as possible a relationship with Euratom, and that this should include accepting its delivery of existing safeguards requirements in the UK”.


The MPs on the committee warned that the impacts of leaving Euratom would be “profound”, putting the UK in,

“a much weaker position to drive regulatory standards”,

at an EU level.

Last week, the EDF corporate policy and regulation director said:

“The UK still lacks the replacement rules needed to fuel its nuclear reactors after”,


the country quits the EU. EDF also told the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee:

“The Euratom Treaty is currently vital to the functioning of nuclear energy generation in the UK. Failure to replace its provisions by the point of withdrawal could result in the UK being unable to import nuclear materials, and have severe consequences for the UK’s energy security”.


The UK’s Nuclear Industry Association, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Hutton, said that,

“the Bill does not provide enough certainty for the industry and the government should be pushing for a transitional agreement”.

Finally, according to City A.M., Vote Leave campaign director Dominic Cummings, in rather colourful language, lambasted government plans to leave the European nuclear agency as “near-retarded”.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

My Lords, I have a couple of questions for the Minister before he replies. First, will he answer the question that the noble Lord, Lord Warner, asked about the recently published—on 29 January—report of the EU committee of this House? It is hot off the press, full of information and all the substantial written evidence is available to noble Lords. Although we were covering energy security, we spent considerable time on Euratom, and there was evidence from the industry and from the ONR. Did the Minister look at any of the evidence and the report before he wrote his letter to noble Lords following Second Reading, which contradicts the evidence provided to the Select Committee?