§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the arrangements by which articles 2(b), 3, and 4(1)a(i) of the Agreement between the United Kingdom and Japan for Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (Cm 3948, May 1998) will be put into effect in respect of Tokai Mura magnox spent fuel reprocessed with magnox fuel from British Nuclear Fuel reactors, at Sellafield; what segregation arrangements will be made; and if Article 12(g) will cover commercial confidentiality in respect of contractors.[44111]
§ Mr. BattleI have been asked to reply.
680WThe purpose of the new UK/Japan Agreement is to provide the necessary secure framework for ensuring that trade in civil nuclear materials and equipment is carried out only in conformity with the UK's nuclear non-proliferation obligations. In particular, it updates commitments concerning the application of safeguards and physical protection measures to nuclear material transferred between Japan and the UK.
Irradiated fuel from Tokai Mura and other safeguard magnox reactors has, since December 1986, been reprocessed in campaigns which are separate from those for unsafeguarded fuel. These safeguards arrangements for such sequential campaigns were agreed with the Euratom Safeguards Directorate in June 1986. Article 12(g) of the UK/Japan Agreement defines the term "unclassified information" as meaning information not classified as restricted, confidential, secret or top secret; such a term is used in the context of article 1(b) of the Agreement.