Nuclear Weapons (Hansard, 20 November 2000)

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is (1) on the 2000 NPT Review Conference proposals on a move to single—warhead submarine—launched ballistic missiles and multiple warhead SLBMs; [138480]
(2) on the 2000 NPT Review Conference decision on a no—first—use policy. [138479]

§ Mr. Vaz
No such decisions were made at the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that NATO's arms control options (1) should include an upgraded financial commitment to International Atomic Energy Agency and a public statement in support of the organisation; [138483]
(2) should include (a) recommendations for the creation of a subsidiary body within the Conference on Disarmament to deal with nuclear disarmament, (b) examination of measures regarding irreversibility, (c) removing requirement for nuclear weapons from its defence policy and (d) recommendations urging progress on the START process and the preservation and strengthening of the ABM Treaty; [138475]
(3) should reflect the 2000 NPT Review Conference decisions on resumption of testing or developing new nuclear weapons; [138540]
(4) should include examination of further verification measures; [138477]
(5) should include a declaration by the Alliance formally adopting the elimination of members' nuclear weapons as an eventual goal; [138482]
(6) should reflect the 2000 NPT Review Conference recommendation urging the US Administration to re—submit the CTBT to the Senate; [138539]
(7) should reflect the 2000 NPT Review Conference decisions on use of its existing science programme in order to support the Trilateral Initiative; [138478]
28W
(8)should be released as a public document; [138481]
(9) pursuant to the 2000 NPT Review Conference decisions should include a review of the reliance placed by non-nuclear weapon states on nuclear weapons held by allies. [138538]

§ Mr. Vaz
The scope of the exercise to which each of these questions refer is, as agreed by all Allies at the 1999 Washington NATO summitto consider options for confidence and security building measures, verification, non—proliferation and arms control and disarmament.
NATO has already made clear, at its ministerial meetings in Florence in May, its strong support for, and commitment to, the conclusions of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. Allies have naturally taken those conclusions into consideration in the course of this exercise. We expect Allies to reiterate their support for all of them. It will be for NATO Foreign Ministers to decide, at their meetings in December, how best to make public the conclusions of this exercise.
The Trilateral initiative involves the development of arrangements to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify that fissile material from nuclear weapons declared by the US and Russia to be no longer required for military purposes is irreversibly removed from military programmes. These arrangements are being negotiated between the US, Russia and the IAEA. NATO is not a party to these negotiations.
The UK and NATO Allies have of course made regular national statements in support of the IAEA, most recently at the Agency's General Conference in October. All NATO Allies make regular budget subscription payments and contributions to the IAEA Technical Co—operation Fund, in accordance with a scale guided by United Nations principles. Furthermore, last year the UK, along with 14 other NATO allies, made additional voluntary contributions to the Agency amounting to some US$15 million.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the policy of Her Majesty's Government are on production of fissile material for weapons use. [138474]

§ Mr. Hain
The previous Government announced in 1995 that the United Kingdom had stopped the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. We have welcomed similar statements by France, Russia, and the United States.
We are eager to see negotiations started in the Geneva Conference on Disarmament on a Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the policy is of Her Majesty's Government on implementation of Article VI and paragraph 4(c) of the 1995 Decision on Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non—Proliferation and Disarmament. [138476]

§ Mr. Hain
The Government are fully committed to the implementation of Article VI and paragraph 4(c) of the 1995 Decision on Principles and Objectives for Nuclear 29W Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. It hopes to see early international progress on the implementation of the agreements reached at the 2000 NPT Review Conference in this regard.
The Government's highest priorities are the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut—Off Treaty; and further deep cuts in the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation.