§ Lord Hogg of Cumbernauldasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any plans to extend the Atomic Weapons Establishment contract. [HL1224]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)We have decided that, following detailed negotiations, and as allowed for in the announcement of the existing 10-year contract for the management and operation of the Atomic Weapons Establishment with AWE Management Limited, the contract should be extended to 25 years and that the contractor should, where necessary, have access to private capital. The extended contract will continue to give overriding priority to safety and security. The resultant long-term partnering arrangement will allow the optimisation of investment in capital projects and will result in improved facilities, environmental improvements and efficiency gains.
Aldermaston and Burghfield will continue as nuclear licensed sites, subject to independent regulation by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Environment Agency. The Ministry of Defence Compliance Officer will also retain the authority and responsibility to cancel the contract and to instruct the contractor to cease operations if there is a serious breach of MoD's requirements.
100WAAll existing and completed new assets will be owned by the Government. The total value of the contract will be £5.3 billion.
The AWE workforce and their trade unions will be given details today by AWE Management Limited.