§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the reason for the Chief Nuclear Inspector's recent visit to Japan; and what discussions he held about the purpose of his visit with departmental Ministers and Officials in advance of his visit. [109907]
642W
§ Mr. MeacherHM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, Mr. Laurence Williams, visited Japan on 7–11 February to brief his opposite number on the conclusions of HSE's forthcoming report "An Investigation into the falsification of pellet diameter data in the MOX Demonstration Facility at the BNFL Sellafield site and the effect of this on the safety of MOX fuel in use". He was not part of the Department of Trade and Industry team visiting Japan at the same time.
My Department was briefed by HSE officials about the purpose of the visit. In view of her accountability to Parliament for nuclear safety, the Minister of State for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe met the Chief Inspector and HSE officials on 2 February, following which she wrote to the Chair of the Health and Safety Commission to stress the independence of the HSE. I am placing in the Library a copy of this letter, together with a letter to the Japanese Minister for International Trade and Industry on 26 January about the Chief Inspector's visit.