§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the terms of reference of the civil uranium procurement directorate; and to whom it is responsible.
§ Mr. Norman LamontIn July 1979, the CEGB, SSEB and BNFL unified their uranium procurement activities under the direction and guidance of the British Civil Uranium Procurement Directorate (BUCPD). The directorate has the task of ensuring that uranium is available to meet the needs of the generating boards and BNFL for the civil nuclear programme. The direcorate is chaired by the deputy-chairman of the CEGB and the membership includes one board member, four from each of BNFL, SSEB and CEGB.
The directorate is, of course, generally responsible to its own members—the 66W major United Kingdom users of uranium. But I, as Secretary of State for Energy, have the general duty of securing effective and co-ordinated development of sources of fuel and power, including coal, petroleum and other minerals, and I retain a close interest in the security of uranium supplies for the United Kingdom civil nuclear programme.