Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of issuing a Regulation 12 determination under the Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004 confirming that the use of ionising radiation for the generation of electricity from nuclear energy using oxide fuel of low enrichment in fissile content in light water cooled, water moderated thermal reactors is considered an Existing Practice for projects such as those proposed by Great British Nuclear.

In his role as Justifying Authority for nuclear energy, the Secretary of State can consider a broad class or type of practice under Regulation 12 of the Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004. A determination to justify a broad class or type of practice would assume that all potential nuclear reactor designs in scope of that class or type of practice would result in a similar balance of benefits and detriments. Where there is sufficient evidence to make such an assessment, the Justifying Authority remains open to the possibility of accommodating a broader range of designs in a class or type of practice when assessing justification applications.