Atomic Weapons Establishments (Hansard, 27 October 1994)

§ Mr. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now set up a full public inquiry into operations at the atomic weapons establishment.

§ Mr. Freeman
No. The Health and Safety Executive Review of the AWE was comprehensive and detailed. The AWE's response was published as part of the report and actions which accord with the recommendations form part of AWE's current safety development programme. A744W public inquiry would divert effort from the important safety improvement work now in hand.

§ Mr. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he now expects to remove AWE's immunity from the licensing requirements of the Nuclear Installations Acts.

§ Mr. Freeman
Decisions will be taken in the light of discussions with the HSE on the timing and implementation of licensing.

§ Mr. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution about safety at AWE following review by the Health and Safety Executive of AWE; and if he will ask Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to carry out a similar review of AWE and publish the results.

§ Mr. Freeman
The HMIP, and also the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, in the case of AWE Cardiff, the Welsh Office, routinely monitor AWE under the provisions of the relevant environmental legislation. They are independent regulators and judge for themselves appropriate timing for reviews and audits.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what response he has made to the recommendation made by the director general of the Health and Safety Executive in his recent report on the safety of atomic weapons establishments in respect of Crown immunity; and when and in what form, he expects to respond to the other recommendations.

§ Mr. Freeman
As I said to the House on 18 October 1994 during the defence debate,Official Report, column 240, we accept in principle the argument for licensing AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield under the provisions of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, subject to discussions about timing the implementation. The report's other recommendations are addressed to the operating contractor, Hunting BRAE, and its response is incorporated into the HSE's report.