Nuclear Liabilities Management Strategy

Liam Fox Excerpts

Thursday 15th September 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Liam Fox)]

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has today published the first issue of the MOD nuclear liabilities management strategy. A copy of the strategy has been placed in the Library of the House.

The MOD’s nuclear liabilities have arisen from building and operating nuclear submarines, and from the manufacture and management of nuclear weapons. They include nuclear materials that are no longer required for defence purposes; the irradiated fuel that has fulfilled its purpose; the sites, facilities, and submarines that support the defence nuclear programme; and, the resultant radioactive wastes.

Although the MOD’s liabilities are substantial they are significantly smaller than the civil nuclear liabilities: the MOD’s radioactive wastes account for less than 1.5% by volume of the UK total. We have, therefore, worked with the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and the Scottish Government to develop a strategy that will deliver the best value for money solutions for the UK.

Managing our nuclear liabilities is a long-term challenge, and the strategy will evolve over time, as specific solutions are developed for dealing with particular liabilities. As a consequence, it is our intention to publish a revised strategy every five years, to reflect the progress being made and to ensure it remains up to date. The strategy being published today sets out the high-level approaches for managing our nuclear liabilities: it provides a common management, decommissioning and disposal framework to ensure a coherent approach across the defence nuclear programme.

The safe and secure management of the MOD’s current and future nuclear liabilities is of paramount importance, and underpins all aspects of the strategy. Its publication reflects the MOD’s commitment to being a responsible nuclear operator and to delivering safe and effective solutions for dealing with those liabilities.