To ask the Scottish Executive what environmental monitoring has been carried out subsequent to the recent test firings of depleted uranium shells at Dundrennan range in Kirkcudbrightshire.

To ask the Scottish Executive whether monitoring of the environmental effect of test firings of depleted uranium shells at Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire should be carried out by an organisation not contracted by the Ministry of Defence.

The Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (RSA 93) provides the legal basis for environmental monitoring and, in Scotland, this is the responsibility of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has Crown exemption from RSA 93, and so monitoring is a matter for, and is undertaken by, MoD and its contractors, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). I understand that details of the environmental monitoring programme are available from DSTL.

In response to these recent test firings, the Scottish Executive has asked SEPA to satisfy itself that an appropriate level of environmental monitoring is in place, and to continue its normal liaison with MoD on this matter. We have also written to the Secretary of State for Defence asking that SEPA be provided with all the relevant information it needs.