§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last reviewed the aid budget allocated to assist the former Soviet Union with a programme to contain then reduce the hazards from deteriorating nuclear material in the Murmansk region. [1513]
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§ Peter HainIn 2000 Her Majesty's Government carried out a comprehensive review of the nuclear safety and security problems in the countries of the former Soviet Union. This included an assessment of the hazards from deteriorating nuclear material in the Murmansk region. As a result of the review the UK pledged £84 million over three years to tackle a range of nuclear problems in the former Soviet Union, including that material in the Murmansk region. This budget is regularly reviewed by an inter-departmental committee, which includes officials from the FCO.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met his Russian counterparts to agree a programme for disbursing aid to assist in containing and reducing hazards from deteriorating nuclear material in the Murmansk region; and when he expects that programme to commence. [1514]
§ Peter HainThe Secretary of State has not yet had the opportunity to meet his Russian counterpart to discuss the hazards from deteriorating nuclear material in the Murmansk region. His predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook), most recently discussed this issue with the Russian Prime Minister on 20 September 2000. There have also been regular and frequent contacts at official level to seek to move forward with disbursing our assistance. I hope such a programme will commence in the near future, once the Russian Government agree to provide adequate legal framework arrangements.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of(a) the extent of the hazards of deteriorating nuclear material (i) in the Kola Peninsula and (ii) at other military establishments in Russia; and (b) the costs of eliminating these hazards. [1515]
§ Peter HainIn 2000 Her Majesty's Government carried out a comprehensive review of the nuclear safety and security problems in the countries of the former Soviet Union. This included an assessment of the hazards of nuclear material on the Kola Peninsula and at other military establishments in Russia. As a result of the review the UK pledged £84 million over three years to tackle a range of nuclear problems in the former Soviet Union. A top priority will be work to decommission radioactive waste from decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines: it is estimated that there are over 100 such vessels in and around the Kola Peninsula, and over 70 in the rest of the Russian Federation.
§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Government policy on pledging support to the Russian Federation Military Plutonium Disposition Programme; if he will place in the Library copies of(a) all UK submissions and (b) other submissions relevant to UK policy to the G8 meeting this month in Genoa, in respect of the deliberation of the Russian Plutonium Programme. [3010]
§ Mr. BradshawThe UK pledged £70 million over a 10-year period at the Okinawa Summit in July 2000 to support the Russian Federation Military Plutonium Disposition Programme. We have continued to play a full role in the programme through our membership of the G8 Plutonium Disposition Planning Group (PDPG), which has been dedicated to taking this work forward. The 479W Group has met regularly since its formation in late 2000 and has produced a report for consideration at the Genoa Summit. An unclassified copy was placed in the House of Commons Library on 9 July 2001. We are aware of no other submissions to the G8 Summit in Genoa.