HC Deb 31 January 1980 vol 977 cc780-1W
Mr. Foulkes

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority constabulary is at present deployed in Scotland; and whether he considers that if an underground nuclear waste depository were built in Scotland it would require the deployment of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority constables for its security.

Mr. Norman Lamont

Disclosure of the number of constables in Scotland could prejudice the security of the two nuclear sites concerned—Chapelcross and Dounreay—because it would allow a close estimate to be made of the number of constables stationed at each. It would not therefore be in the public interest to give the information requested. The Government have no plans for developing an underground nuclear waste disposal faclity, in Scotland or elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Security requirements would be one of the factors for consideration when decisions about whether to proceed with the development of a facility are taken.