§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that station managers who assume the role of emergency controller during a serious incident at a nuclear installation have sufficient time to carry out both their duty to restore the plant to a safe condition and their functions in relation to co-ordinating monitoring of a radioactivity, advising emergency services on the need for evacuation and determining whether potassium iodate tablets should be distributed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerAll major nuclear sites in the United Kingdom have offsite co-ordination centres, the main purpose of which is to relieve the emergency controller at the site of the responsibility for advising on the need for offsite counter-measures. Such centres are part of the site emergency plans, which are approved by HM nuclear installations inspectorate, in whose presence they are regularly rehearsed.