§ Mr. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of Lockheed Martin's safety record in nuclear work undertaken in the United States; and if he will list the identified shortcomings. [116240]
§ Mr. SpellarIn the assessment process for the AWE contract, bidders were required to provide information to demonstrate their safety record. AWE ML provided full information on its parent companies including Lockheed Martin. This information was assessed not only by the Department but by the independent regulators, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) in the context of AWE' s existing safety regime, and by the Environment Agency (EA). The NII confirmed before the contract was signed that it was satisfied. The EA confirmed its satisfaction on 9 March when it issued revised discharge authorisations for the AWE sites.
After the contract was placed on 1 December, there was an incident at the Oak Ridge Y12 facility in Tennessee which resulted in the publicity of a number of alleged shortcomings in Lockheed Martin's safety record in the US. As a result the Secretary of State asked the Chief of Defence Procurement to carry out a further review to ensure that none of the Lockheed Martin nominees to AWE ML was connected with the criticisms made. In addition, the Department consulted with the US Department of Energy concerning Lockheed Martin's safety performance, and both of the UK's regulatory 8W authorities were again consulted about the suitability of Lockheed Martin to act as a shareholder in AWE ML.
§ Mr. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the criticality non-compliances recently reported to his Department for which Lockheed Martin was responsible in the USA which his Department deemed significant. [116243]
§ Mr. SpellarIncidents at nuclear facilities in the US are the responsibility of the US regulators and therefore are not routinely reported to the Department. However, as part of the bidding process for the contract to manage and operate AWE, each consortium had to provide information to demonstrate the safety performance of their parent companies, including Lockheed Martin. Furthermore, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) routinely review significant safety events even if they take place outside the UK to see if there are any implications for safety at UK nuclear facilities. The Department also took account of the opinions of the US regulators in assessing the review of policies and procedures at the Oak Ridge Y12 plant carried out by Lockheed Martin.
I would like to add that following the incident at the Oak Ridge facility in early December, an amendment was inserted into the new AWE contract by which Lockheed Martin, and its partners in AWE ML, are required to notify MOD of occurrences that might have a bearing on operations at AWE within 48 hours.
§ Mr. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date he was informed of Lockheed Martin's safety record at the sites it managed for the Department of Energy in the USA. [116241]
§ Mr. SpellarAs part of its bid for the new contract to manage and operate AWE, the AWE ML consortium provided the Department with evidence on the safety record of each of its parent companies, including Lockheed Martin. Each bidder was required to demonstrate a proven and successful track record with specific relevant experience in, inter alia, licensed nuclear site operations. Lockheed Martin provided this information to the Department on 1 June 1999.
§ Mr. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reconsider the decision to award the Aldermaston and Burghfield contract to AWE Management Ltd. [116245]
§ Mr. SpellarI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, West (Mr. Salter) on 29 March 2000,Official Report, columns 159-60W.