§ Mr. Robin F. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current status of the plutonium reprocessing and storage plant at Windscale in terms of the safeguards normally recommended by the IAEA under the duty placed on it by the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
§ Mr. BennThere is no obligation on a nuclear weapon State, as defined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty, to accept safe-guards646W under that treaty. Such safeguards are therefore not currently applied to the Windscale reprocessing and storage plant. But Her Majesty's Government are in the process of negotiating with the European Commission and the IAEA a safeguards agreement which will apply to all civil nuclear activities in the United Kingdom. This agreement is necessary to enable the United Kingdom to implement its voluntary offer to accept IAEA safeguards.