Baroness Cartvale of Ramsayasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield to be licensed under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)I am pleased to announce that the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations has granted a licence, effective from 1 July 1997, to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) management contractor Hunting-BRAE Ltd. to operate the AWE sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield. The two sites will thus be brought within the same regulatory regime as civil nuclear sites and will be regularly inspected by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. This will provide independent assurance that nuclear related activities at AWE are carried out safely and pose no threat to the workforce, the public or the environment.