Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the (a) Welsh Assembly Government and (b) Northern Ireland Executive on participation of the devolved administrations in preparations for receipt of communications from communities putting themselves forward as prospective hosts for a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste activities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The 2014 Implementing Geological Disposal White Paper states that formal discussions with interested communities will not start until after a programme of work has been undertaken by my Department and the GDF Developer, RWM. As the White Paper makes clear, this includes development of the detail around how communities can engage with the process.

Radioactive waste management is a devolved matter. Therefore, the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive each have responsibility for this issue in or as regards Wales and Northern Ireland respectively. These positions were set out clearly in the White Paper, which was issued jointly by the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.