Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the load factor at each of Britain's nuclear power stations in the last year for which figures are available. [25272]
Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many staff were employed at each of Britain's advanced gas-cooled reactor power stations(a) in 1989 and (b) in 1994. [25273]
Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when the licence for the operation of the Sizewell pressurised water reactor and each of Britain's advanced gas-cooled reactors was last issued by the nuclear installations inspectorate; what is the period of the licence; what are the consent conditions; how often inspections are carried out; and what modifications there have been in each licence since first issued. [25287]
§ Mr. EggarThe table gives the dates on which the current nuclear site licences were granted for the sites listed and the number of times the licences have been varied.
Site name Date licence last granted Number of Variations since last licence was granted Sizewell 1 March 1990 4 Dungeness 1 March 1990 5 Hinkley Point 30 July 1993 5 Hartlepool 1 March 1990 3 Heysham 1 and 2 1 March 1990 5 Hunterston 1 March 1990 5 Torness 1 March 1990 3 Nuclear site licences are granted to nuclear operators for the sites on which installations are situated and not for the individual facilities such as reactors. For example, the Sizewell B pressurised water reactor is situated on the Sizewell site, for which the last licence was issued on 1 March 1990, as indicated in the table.
Nuclear site licences may be varied for a number of reasons—for example, the commissioning of full power. 426W A complete list of the variations that have been made to each of the site licences listed is not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
The Health and Safety Executive grants a nuclear site licence for an indefinite period. The licence can be revoked by the HSE and can also be surrendered by the licensee, who is responsible for the safety of activities on the site. HSE's publication, "Nuclear Site Licences under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (As Amended), Notes for Applicants", sets out the current conditions attached to a licence. A copy of this is in the Library of the House.
In 1994, on average, HSE's nuclear installations inspectorate inspected each nuclear power station every 2.5 weeks. The operation of each reactor is constrained by HSE using controls, including consents, derived from the conditions attached to the licence.