Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure the safety of and (b) mitigate potential risks posed by the decommissioning of nuclear submarines at Rosyth Royal Dockyard for surrounding residential areas.

All the submarines currently stored at Rosyth have already been defueled, which has significantly reduced overall potential risk. Further, steps include contractual requirements with Babcock International around safety and environmental factors. These include regular sampling of surrounding waters and beaches, and dismantling one boat as a demonstrator to determine the safest methods before starting on other boats.

In addition to the safety and environmental activities the Ministry of Defence and Babcock undertake, we also comply with permits and regulatory requirements from the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR), the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). This includes annual emergency exercises with ONR to plan and test for any potential incidents, in the very unlikely event that a significant issue may occur.