§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the(a) role and (b) powers of the Nuclear and Coal Liabilities unit; when the unit was established; and what its complement of staff is, excluding secondees. [161818]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 16 March 2004]: The Nuclear and Coal Liabilities Unit (NCLU) is an administrative directorate within the DTI and has no independent powers in its own right. It is responsible for the effective clean-up of the nuclear power industry and for meeting residual liabilities for the Coal Mining industry. In particular. it is currently creating the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and managing the Government relationships with British Nuclear Fuels Limited, British Energy plc and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. It is also responsible for administering coal health claims, the coal industry pension schemes, the relationship with the Coal Authority and the concessionary fuel scheme.
The NCLU was created in 2002. It currently has a staff of 76 excluding secondees.