§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations Her Majesty's Government have received from(a) the United Kingdom and (b) abroad in regard to plans to export plutonium from Sellafield to (i) Japan and (ii) Europe.
§ Mr. EggarNo arrangements have been made at this stage for the shipment of plutonium from the United Kingdom to Japan. My Department has received a number of communications on the export of plutonium. Plutonium arising from civil reprocessing at Sellafield is transferred overseas only subject to the application of safeguards and on receipt of assurances covering peaceful use, physical protection and controls on re-transfer.
§ Mrs. Anne CampbellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what criteria are used by the Government to decide which countries are suitable to receive exports of plutonium from the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. EggarAll applications for the export of nuclear materials from the United Kingdom are given careful consideration before an export licence is granted. The412W guidelines for British policy on exports and transfers of nuclear materials, including plutonium, were first announced by the then Foreign Secretary, now Lord Callaghan, on 31 March 1976 at columns 515–16 and have been applied by successive Governments.
Particular attention is paid to whether the receiving country is a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty or has an equivalent commitment or has concluded a full-scope safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Consideration is also given to other factors such as strategic concerns, the risk of diversion or a lack of effective export controls of the receiving country.