Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 28 October 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 October 2008. It was answered by Lord Davies of Stamford (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 November 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

AWE Management: Safety

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures are in place to monitor AWE Management Ltd's retention of a nuclear baseline which demonstrates that its organisational structures, staffing and competences remain sufficient to maintain nuclear safety at the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites operated by the company.

Answer: In common with civil nuclear operators, the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites are licensed by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) and are required to comply with 36 licence conditions. Licence condition 36 requires that any changes to the nuclear baseline organisation for managing safety is monitored, assessed and categorised in terms of its impact on nuclear safety management in order to gain appropriate regulatory approval. The NII monitors AWE compliance against its licence conditions through inspection of processes and procedures.

Secondary information