§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate memorandum, a Summary of the Dounreay FCA Inspection Findings, was brought to his attention; what assurances he(a) sought and (b) received from the HSE that Dounreay was a suitable destination for the waste from Georgia; what action he took in response to the document; and if he will make a statement. [46784]
§ Mr. DewarThe memorandum was brought to my attention by way of a letter dated 11 June 1998 from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). I advised that the full report should be published and this was done on 15 June. The report highlighted a number of concerns in respect of the Fuel Cycle Area which led to a programme of improvements. The independent regulators are currently conducting a comprehensive audit of the management of safety, which inter alia will examine the effectiveness of the improvement programme.
The report of the audit will be made public later this year. The recommendations emerging from that audit will be considered fully by Ministers in due course.
The HSE was consulted before it was decided to accept the Georgian consignment and was satisfied that the material could be stored safely at Dounreay.