§ Mr. Ashdownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list and describe the steps taken by his Department pursuant to recommendation 10 of the report of the advisory group chaired by Sir Douglas Black on the incidence of cancers in the vicinity of nuclear installations in the north-west of England.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeRecommendation 10a. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment on 17 June at columns 20–21.
Recommendation 10b Discussions have taken place between officials of our department and others, the National Radiological Protection Board and experts in the field on what additional epidemiological and other human data are required. Some further studies are under way already.
Recommendation 10c Consultation between our Department and authorising Departments on the health consequences of discharges now take place regularly and our officials attend meetings of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee and other relevant Government committees.
Recommendation 10d The establishment of the designated body recommended by Sir Douglas Black's advisory group is still being discussed by the relevant Government Departments and NRPB. We will make a decision on how this is to be implemented soon.