§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reports he has received from(a) British Rail, (b) British Nuclear Fuels and (c) Cumbria county council of lessons learnt from the recently conducted exercise involving a spent nuclear fuel flask accident in Millom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanExercises to test the emergency procedures in the event of a fuel flask incident are held at regular intervals and the recent one at Millom was attended by a representative of my Department.
Control and administration of these exercises is a matter for the nuclear industry and I am satisfied that such exercises reflect, as far as possible, any likely scenario should a real incident occur.