Aldermaston (Hansard, 19 April 1991)

§ Mr. Boyes
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the welding fault problems in the A90 and A91 buildings at Aldermaston.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
The work to rectify problems associated with welds in A90 was completed in April 1990. Further details may be found in the evidence given by my Department to the Select Committee on Defence and published in the reports "The progress of the Trident Programme", 5th of Session 1988–89 and 9th of Session 1989–90 (HC 374 and HC 237). During the commissioning of the A91 facility a different problem has been identified associated with corrosion in pipework and vessels. The problem is being investigated and solutions identified.

§ Mr. Boyes
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the A90 building is to be closed either fully or partially; and what will happen to staff at Aldermaston.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
No. The problem associated with corrosion in pipework and vessels is in the A91 facility and 277W not A90. As a result the training schedules of a small number of the future operators of A91 are being revised whilst the problem is investigated.

§ Mr. Boyes
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the present problems at Aldermaston will affect the timetable for the Trident warhead production.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
We do not expect any adverse effect on the Trident warhead production programme.

§ Mr. Boyes
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the cost of rectifying the problems on the A90 and A91 buildings at Aldermaston.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
The work to rectify the problems in A90 was completed in April 1990. It is not the practice to disclose details of individual contract costs for reasons of commercial confidentiality. Further details may be found in the evidence given by my Department to the Select Committee on Defence and published in the reports "The progress of the Trident Programme", 5th of Session 1988–89 and 9th of Session 1989–90 (HC 374 and HC 237). The investigations into the problems with A91 are at an early stage and it is not yet possible to estimate the cost of any corrective action that may be necessary.