§ Ms. GordonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the purpose of a Z-berth; if Z-berths have permanent safety precautions against radiological hazards; and if he will publish in theOfficial Report the locations of all the Z-berths in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonA Z-berth is a berth designated for occasional operational or recreational visits by nuclear-powered warships. Its safety arrangements will include a public safety scheme prepared after discussion with the local authorities and civil emergency services, which will provide for a Royal Naval incident commander and a naval emergency monitoring team in the area to stand by throughout any such visit to respond to an emergency. The monitoring team has access to a supply of potassium iodate tablets, and carries out monitoring during the visit.
The United Kingdom Z-berths are at Barrow-in-Furness, Barry, Brodick bay, Campbeltown, Cardiff, Coulport and Loch Long, Devonport and Plymouth Sound, Faslane, the Firth of Forth, Glen Malian, Lamlash bay, Lerwick and the Shetland isles, Liverpool, Loch Ewe, Loch Fyne, Loch Goil, Loch Striven, Portland, Portree, Portsmouth, Raasay (Broadford bay), Rosyth, Rothesay, Southampton, Spithead, Thurso bay and Torbay.
§ Ms. GordonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings there have been between his Department and local and port authorities concerning the possible locating of a Z-berth at Tilbury; when a decision is expected; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAs I said in my answer to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones) on 9 March 1989 at column677, my officials have had preliminary discussions with port and local authorities about visits to Tilbury by Royal Navy ships, including nuclear-powered submarines. This remains the position. It would be premature to anticipate the outcome of these discussions at this stage.