Written question asked by Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 27 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 November 2006. It was answered by Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Nuclear Deterrent

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the undiscounted costs of nuclear liabilities for which his Department is responsible, set out at page 220 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06, HC 1394, represent the entire cost of decommissioning the Trident nuclear weapons system; and what proportion of these costs is expected to fall within (a) two, (b) four, (c) six and (d) more than six years of the start of decommissioning.

Answer: [holding answer 1 November 2006]: The nuclear liabilities detailed within the Departments Annual Report include the current estimate of the cost of decommissioning the Trident nuclear weapons system. I also refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 19 July 2006 to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn) which provides a detailed breakdown of all nuclear liabilities, not just those of the Trident system.Decisions about precisely how and when Trident will be decommissioned have not yet been taken. It is therefore not possible to say what proportion of costs is expected to fall within two, four, six and more than six years of the start of decommissioning.

Secondary information