Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011

Lord Teverson Excerpts

Tuesday 12th July 2011 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Marland)]

My Lords, if I were in a football team I would have been substituted a long time ago, but I am still here and I am waiting for Alex Ferguson to send on a replacement but, sadly, that will not happen.

The regulations that we are debating today amend some of the provisions relating to the regulation of radioactive substances in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 in order to provide a more modern, transparent and user-friendly system for the regulation of radioactive substances, while at the same time strictly applying the best standards of radiation protection. They apply to England and Wales and will considerably simplify the often complex system of regulation, which has hardly changed over the past 50 years.

This will be particularly important for those users of radioactive substances which present a very low risk to people and the environment—for example, the holders of clocks, watches and smoke detectors —while at the same time maintaining the necessary level of protection. We estimate that several thousand users will benefit from these changes. This is a good example of the coalition’s agenda to reduce the burden of regulation on business and I am pleased to say that it has received a green light from the Regulatory Policy Committee.

There has been substantial engagement with stakeholders during the development of the regulations. They believe that the need to clarify and modernise the system is long overdue. The Government have listened to the views of experts, industry, public services, regulators and other interested parties throughout this process and have received strong support for the new regime. Indeed, it has been clear throughout the stakeholder engagement process that there would be decreased confidence by users of the regulatory process if it was not modernised soon.

During the course of development, it became clear that a logical, comprehensive and modern regime could be delivered only if the definitions of radioactive material and radioactive waste were amended, and exemptions from the requirement for permits, which are contained in 18 different statutory instruments, were made more transparent and user-friendly. The main effect of the regulations is therefore to change the boundaries that define whether a particular substance or article is outside the scope of legislation—for example, and I specifically asked for this to be put in, a banana; capable of being exempt from full regulation—for instance, smoke detectors; or otherwise subject to normal permitting, such as radioactive waste from a nuclear site.

These changes, where they have been necessary, have been made for three reasons. The current boundaries are sometimes in the wrong place. The exact position of the boundary is currently vague—I knew that noble Lords were not listening, so that banana came as a bit of a surprise. There are gaps in the boundaries because the current exemption orders are up to 50 years old and technology in this field continually advances. These changes will provide a modern, simplified and proportionate—that is, risk-informed—regulatory regime which will result in efficiencies for users and regulators. The net savings for users and regulators across the UK are estimated to be in the region of £11 million over the next 10 years.

Because we have now more explicitly implemented the levels for exemption from regulation in the relevant EU directive, some exemption levels are more restrictive than in our current system and some are less so. This will not lead to any significant change to disposal practices in the nuclear industry sector, but will be of benefit to the users of radioactive substances outside the sector. For example, there are additional exemption provisions for medical establishments to manage and dispose of their aqueous radioactive waste more efficiently and without unnecessary paperwork.

Radioactive waste is a devolved matter. The necessary legislation to achieve the equivalent changes in Scotland is ready to come into force in October, and Northern Ireland is already in the process of amending its legislation with the intention that this, too, will come into force in October. Consistent regulation across the UK will therefore be maintained, which is very important for operators who work across UK borders.

I turn to another matter addressed in the regulations. My department is working to transpose the EU directive on geological storage of carbon dioxide. Two provisions that remain to be addressed are Articles 32 and 37 of the directive. Amendments to the 2010 regulations to transpose these articles are being made in these regulations. I hope that noble Lords will agree that they provide much needed modernisation and I commend them to the Committee.

[Lord Teverson]

I was hoping that one of the noble and right reverend Prelate’s colleagues who has a degree in history and physics might be here. We have already dealt with chemistry and we have some very interesting substances listed here such as cosmic nuclides or whatever. In my electoral division in Cornwall, I have a NORM depot for the china clay industry, operated by Imerys, which is about to be replaced. I got involved in some of the issues concerning the oil industry and other areas where there is a small radioactive residue that comes from processing these minerals. I am delighted to say that I have received no lobbying from the Cornish china clay industry on the regulations, and therefore assume that they are a good improvement. Therefore, I congratulate the Minister on this change.

I have never seen an Explanatory Memorandum that has been more complicated and of which I have understood less. However, I am sure that the Department of Energy and Climate Change has our interests at heart.

[Baroness Smith of Basildon]

My Lords, I am very grateful for the Minister's explanation. I am still thinking about the banana reference, which I did not quite get. If he would elucidate further on that, it would be an enormous help. He made clear the reasons behind the regulations. They are intended to be simpler and more user-friendly, while maintaining standards for the regulation of low-level radioactive substances and complying with EU directives.

As he knows, the regulations were first consulted on by the Labour Government in 2009. As a result of the consultation, a fair number of changes were made. Normally, I would raise concerns about an order coming into force so quickly following its discussion—I understand that it will be the day after it has been signed. However, in this case there should be widespread knowledge and understanding among those groups that are affected by the regulations. For the reassurance of the Committee, it would be helpful if the Minister would state whether he is entirely satisfied that all those who need to know about the regulations do so, and, if there are any gaps, what efforts are being made to ensure that we pick up those who may have missed some part of the consultation process since 2009.

These are very technical regulations. I, too, regret that the noble and right reverend Prelate is no longer with us, because he would be helpful. Few noble Lords will understand Part 3 of the regulations. Table 2, headed “Concentration of radionuclides”, lists various concentrations in becquerels per gram. I confess that I have no understanding of what that means and so in many ways feel inadequate to the task of effective scrutiny. I therefore seek reassurance from the Minister. Can he say whether any concerns were raised through the consultation that the regulations would in any way compromise public safety? I gave notice that I would ask that question. If those concerns were raised, how were they addressed? Those who were consulted would have greater knowledge than I or other Members of your Lordships’ House would have.