§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will ensure that no further supplies of uranium from Namibia will be imported into the United Kingdom, for internal use or re-export, when the Rossing contract ends in 1984.
§ Mr. John MooreAs stated in my reply to the hon. Member on 24 January, the CEGB has no plans to obtain further uranium from Namibia beyond that to be supplied under the existing contract for uranium from the Rossing mine which terminates in 1984. I understand that the British Civil Uranium Procurement Directorate has no plans in behalf of civil nuclear operators in this country to import uranium from Namibia. The import and re-export of uranium by or on behalf of other companies or overseas facilities is a commercial matter for them to decide, but which will be subject to both import and export licences issuable by the Department of Trade.
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Energy if the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority or British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. is using uranium oxide imported from South Africa; and if the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority or British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. has any contractual agreements with the South African Energy Board.
§ Mr. John MooreThe United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. use uranium oxide imported from South Africa before 1974. They have not placed any further contracts for South African uranium oxide.
The South African Atomic Energy Board has now been renamed the Nuclear Development Corporation of South Africa. The Nuclear Development Corporation of South Africa is an associate member of the system reliability service operated by the safety and reliability directorate of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. The systems reliability service has a wide international membership and provides advice on the reliability assessment of industrial systems and plant and the development of reliability techniques.