§ Dr. David Clarkasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what professional staff in his Department are engaged in the programme of reviewing certificates of authorisation for radioactive discharges following Cmnd. 9852; whether such staff are only engaged in review work for installations in England; whether the individuals concerned have other duties; what other organisations are involved in the review work; if he will publish a timetable for issuing the new certificates for each nuclear installation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. JoplingOfficers of the fisheries radiological inspectorate and the atomic energy unit of my Department are engaged in the programme of reviewing certificates of authorisation on our behalf in respect of installations in England and will participate on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales in the review of authorisations for installations in Wales. The officers concerned undertake a range of other duties relating to inspection and regulation of discharges under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960, related monitoring and research programmes and provision of technical advice.
The Department of the Environment is also involved in the review work in England, as is the Welsh Office in respect of Welsh installations and the Scottish Office in respect of Scottish installations. As was stated in paragraph 63 of Cmnd. 9852, the intention is to complete the review work within three years. I regret that it is not possible to publish a timetable for issuing new certificates.