Trade and Industry Committe Press Notice - Managing the Nuclear Legacy: Comments on the Government W

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PRESS NOTICE PN 31 2001-02 Managing the Nuclear Legacy: Comments on the Government White Paper Publication of Report The Committee has published its Fifth Report of Session 2001-02, Managing the Nuclear Legacy: Comments on the Government White Paper (HC 1074). The Committee welcomes the Government's proposal to establish a Liabilities Management Authority to take over responsibility for the management of the UK's civil public sector nuclear liabilities from BNFL and UKAEA. It concludes that the arrangements set out in the White Paper should result in the development of a focussed, long-term clean-up programme and provide transparency in the way in which the nuclear legacy is to be managed which the existing arrangements lack. It should also contribute to an improvement in public confidence in the arrangements for the storage and disposal of civil nuclear material. However, if the Government's strategy is to work, it is essential that: a) the legislation necessary to establish the LMA is introduced without delay; b) from the outset, the LMA produces an independent, authoritative assessment of the extent of the nuclear liability; c) an independent assessment is made of the value of the assets to be transferred from BNFL to the LMA, including the NLIP, to ensure that the terms of the transfer of assets and liabilities represent the best value for money for the taxpayer; d) whichever mechanism is adopted for funding the LMA, the Government ensures that its contribution is sufficient to make good any shortfall resulting from the commercial operations to be transferred to the LMA; and e) the LMA Board and management are given the freedom and budget necessary to recruit and retain staff with the high quality skills that the Authority will need to provide the direction and supervision to manage the clean-up programme. The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Martin O'Neill MP, said: "We are pleased that the Government has grasped the nettle of tackling the legacy of civil nuclear waste. The establishment of a new Liabilities Management Authority gives the opportunity to provide the long-term planning and funding necessary, and which has been absent from the existing arrangements. "However, the new structure is simply the beginning of the process. The first task of the Authority must be to establish once and for all the scale of the liabilities to be dealt with. At the same time, key issues remain for the Government: making a comprehensive assessment of the assets of BNFL that should be transferred to the LMA to offset the cost of the liabilities, and ensuring that there is sufficient funding for the Authority to be able to carry out its job effectively. We think that a segregated fund to finance the clean-up programme would be the best guarantee that there will be enough money available to allow sensible planning of what are inevitably long-term clean-up operations. "In the context of considering the transfer of assets from BNFL to the LMA, we were disappointed that we did not have access, as we had been told that we would, to BNFL's latest accounts. We understand that these are to be published shortly. Our Report raises a number of questions on the assessment of liabilities and costs. When we have received the response to these, we shall consider whether we should inquire further into this area." The Committee's Fifth Report was published at 11 am on Wednesday 24 July 2002 as HC 1074. Copies are available for witnesses and the press from the Committee Office (020 7219 5779) or may be purchased from The Stationery Office (0870 600 5522). The full text will also be posted on the Committee's website (address below). 24 July 2002 Note to Editors The Committee is appointed under Standing Order No. 152 of the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department of Trade and Industry and associated public bodies. It has the power to send for persons, papers and records. The Members of the Committee are: Mr Martin O'Neill MP, (Chairman) (Lab, Ochil) Mr Roger Berry MP (Lab, Kingswood) Dr Ashok Kumar MP (Lab, Middlesborough South and East Cleveland) Mr Richard Burden MP (Lab, Birmingham, Northfield) Mr Andrew Lansley, CBE, MP (Con, South Cambridgeshire Mr Jonathan Djanogly MP (Con, Huntingdon) Mrs Jackie Lawrence MP (Lab, Presli, Pembrokeshire) Mr Philip Hammond MP (Con, Runnymede and Weybridge) Mrs Linda Perham MP (Lab, Ilford North) Mr Lindsay Hoyle MP (Lab, Chorley) Sir Robert Smith MP (Lib Dem, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) Previous Reports and Press Notices (from 1996 onward) can be viewed on the Internet at: www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/t&ihome.htm

 

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