§ Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work is carried out by(a) the Sandia National Laboratories, (b) the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and (c) the Los Alamos National Laboratories on behalf of the United Kingdom Government. [166583]
§ Mr. IngramThe Ministry of Defence and the Atomic Weapons Establishment maintain collaborative contact with Sandia National Laboratories, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and the Los Alamos National Laboratories under the 1958 UK/US Mutual Defence Agreement (Cm 537, as amended).
This contact, which may include the placement of specific work packages with the US facilities by or on behalf of HMG, principally relates to the stockpile stewardship programmes that ensure the continued safety and reliability of the UK's nuclear weapons stockpile. It would be contrary to the interests of national security to give further details of such activities, which I am therefore withholding under Exemption 1 (Defence, Security, and International Relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.