Uranium (Hansard, 25 January 1995)

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of reprocessed uranium have been exported under licence to the Russian Federation since 1991 for re-enrichment before return to the United Kingdom.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
Since 1991 there have been no exports of reprocessed uranium from the United Kingdom to the Russian Federation.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what applications have been made by British Nuclear Fuels or Nuclear Electric for import licences for enriched uranium purchased from companies in the Russian Federation or other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

§ Mr. Needham
As a general matter, applications for import licences are treated as commercially confidential.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what memoranda of understanding exist between the United Kingdom and the former Soviet Union which have been inherited by the Russian Federation providing for a framework agreement for the import of uranium hexafluoride from Russia for commercial use.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
Before the former Soviet Union came to an end in December 1991, imports of uranium hexafluoride were made on a purely commercial basis. None of the Government's obligations in the field of nuclear non-proliferation required an inter-governmental memorandum of understanding.