Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (Hansard, 17 July 1998)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)

We have today published the report of the steering committee guiding the Financial Management and Policy Review of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC). Copies of the report, which was completed in March 1997, including a list of those who responded to the consultation exercise, have been placed in the Library of the House.

The conclusion of the prior options stage of the review were announced by the previous Government on 28 November 1996. This was that RWMAC should continue to operate for at least the next five years. It was also announced at that time that the steering committee would go on to consider the structure and operation of RWMAC. The report being published today sets out the considerations leading to the decision that RWMAC should continue, and the steering committee's proposals for modifying the structure and operation of the committee to suit current requirements.

The Government welcome the majority of the steering committee's recommendations but have given further consideration to two of the recommendations; the membership template and the deletion of "civil" from RWMAC's terms of reference to reflect its practice, now well established under invitation, of also considering the management of radioactive waste from defence establishments.

The membership template has been amended to place a greater emphasis on environmental and societal perspectives and lay perspectives. The new membership template printed below will become an attachment to all copies of the steering committee's report.

Consideration of the proposed amendment to RWMAC's terms of reference will be deferred until the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has reported on nuclear waste management.

We along with my right honourable friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales have accepted all the other recommendations made by the steering committee.

65WA 66WA

RWMAC Membership Template
Specialism	Indicative organisation(s) from which members drawn	Proposed Number
Nuclear and radioactive waste management	Industry, consultancies, overseas operator	4
Geology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, chemical modelling	University, research institute or private sector	4
Industrial waste management, pollution control	Non-nuclear industry	1
Radiological protection	NRPB	1
Environmental health/medical health	Medical Research Council, university, medical research, charity or hospital health physicist	2
Local government/planning	Local authorities, NGOs	1
Environmental and societal perspectives	Environmental NGOs and associated individuals, relevant university disciplines	3
Health and safety	Trades unions, regulators	1
Environmental law	Academia and private practice	1
Lay interests	Various	1
	Total	19