§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the uses to which the highly enriched uranium being manufactured at the new Capenhurst plant owned by his Department will be put.
§ Mr. PattieAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence said in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bebington and Ellesmere Port (Mr. Porter)— [Vol. 26, c. 128–29]—the enriched uranium produced by Capenhurst will, after further enrichment in the United States of America, satisfy all the foreseeable United Kingdom defence requirements for highly enriched uranium.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Defence if any of the finished product from the Capenhurst plant will be sold or traded to the United States of America.
§ Mr. PattieThere is no plan to sell or trade any of the product to a foreign nation.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Defence if any of the highly enriched uranium to be produced at the 406W new Capenhurst plant is to be used for nuclear weapons, either in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, or elsewhere.
§ Mr. PattieI refer the hon. Member to my earlier reply regarding the uses to which highly enriched uranium will be put.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Defence if nuclear powered submarines need the same grade of highly enriched uranium as nuclear weapons.
§ Mr. PattieThe level of uranium enrichment required for weapons purposes is not necessarily the same as that required for propulsion reactors.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Defence what grade of highly enriched uranium will be made at the new Capenhurst plant.
§ Mr. PattieI refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to my hon. Friend the Member for Bebington and Ellesmere Port (Mr. Porter)—[Vol. 26, c. 128–129]—on 23 June.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Defence if any of the product from the Capenhurst plant will be shipped to the United States of America for further enrichment.
§ Mr. PattieAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence informed my hon. Friend the Member for Bebington and Ellesmere Port (Mr. Porter)—[Vol. 26, c. 128–29]—on 23 June, the plant at Capenhurst will enrich natural uranium to intermediate level and this will be transferred to the United States of America for further enrichment.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Defence if work has yet begun on a new enriching plant at Capenhurst.
§ Mr. PattiePreparatory work has been started by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. towards the building of a new enrichment plant at the Capenhurst works.