Atomic Weapons Establishment

HC Deb 20 January 1995 vol 252 cc753-4W

Mr. Butler

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the plans for the future of the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Mr. Freeman

Hunting-BRAE Ltd., which manages and operates the Atomic Weapons Establishment on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, is today announcing a rationalisation of the sites of the establishment. This will involve some transfers of work to Aldermaston, and also the closure of the Cardiff site, the partial closure of the Burghfield site, and the transfer of the responsibility for some of the work carried out at Foulness site to the single defence science and technology agency proposed by the defence costs study. In all there will be about 850 job losses.

These proposals will be made possible by the completion of work on Trident warheads. They will allow sensible economies to be made without in any way affecting our ability to meet our present and future needs, and they have our full support. Our nuclear policy is unchanged. The Atomic Weapons Establishment will continue to underwrite the safety and reliability of warheads now in service and will retain the capability to design and produce warheads in future as circumstances make necessary.