HC Deb 28 March 2000 vol 347 cc105-6W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2000,Official Report, columns 51-52W, on the visit of British nuclear officials to Japan, for what reason details of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate report on irregularities and safety of MOX production at Sellafield were released to the Japanese authorities prior to their official release in the United Kingdom; and which bodies in Japan received the NII reports and under what conditions of confidentiality. [114141]

Mrs. Liddell

The Health and Safety Executive's Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations visited the Japanese nuclear regulator, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), on 7 February 2000 when he made a detailed presentation of his findings into the falsification of pellet diameter quality assurance data in the MOX Demonstration Facility at Sellafield. He also handed over to MITI a pre-publication copy of the report prepared by HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), "An investigation 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 did this as part of the on-going dialogue between HSE/NII and MITI, as the relevant safety regulators, in view of the importance to Japan of the issues in the report and to allow the Japanese authorities sufficient time to prepare for any inquiries they might receive. The Japanese authorities agreed to make no public comment about the report or HM Chief Inspector's discussions with them before its publication.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance Ltd. as verification agents of British Nuclear Fuels environmental, health and safety policies and practices at Sellafield. [114823]

Mrs. Liddell

[holding answer 23 March 2000]: Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) Ltd. is a commercial organisation accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service for the certification of quality and environmental management systems (ISO 9000 and 14000). They are contracted by BNFL for this purpose. BNFL's decision to use LRQA is a matter for BNFL.

Dr. Jack Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the normal period of service for a non-executive director of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. [115994]

Mrs. Liddell

[holding answer 27 March 2000]: The length of service of non-executive directors of BNFL varies according to the needs of the company. Subject to this, a non-executive director can normally expect to be appointed for a period of up to three years and, assuming satisfactory performance, can expect a re-appointment for a second term of a similar duration. Further re-appointments are sometimes made, taking account of the Code and Guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.