Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether nuclear waste is due to be offloaded at Devonport.

Yes. The offload of radioactive materials at Devonport predominantly occurs through the maintenance, upkeep or refit work on our in-service submarines or the removal of radioactive materials from decommissioned submarines stored at Devonport.

All such materials are safely handled, stored and managed to final disposal in accordance with relevant statute, regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency as appropriate.

Recommencing the Defuel programme of our decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines in Devonport means that used nuclear fuel will be removed. This used fuel will be transported to the Sellafield site for safe storage pending potential re-processing / re-use.