Nuclear Plants: Security

House of Lords written question – answered at on 24 March 2009.

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Photo of Lord Harris of Haringey Lord Harris of Haringey Labour

To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for assessing the security risks associated with the protection of (a) the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, and (b) Dounreay nuclear establishment; and how that risk assessment is fed into the funding and support for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

Photo of Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Minister of State (Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation and Air Quality), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Minister of State (Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation and Air Quality), Department for Energy and Climate Change, Minister of State (Department of Energy and Climate Change), Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation and Air Quality) (also in the Department for Energy and Climate Change), Deputy Leader of the House of Lords

The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is the security regulator for the civil nuclear industry. It regulates security arrangements for the protection of nuclear and radioactive material on licensed civil nuclear sites, nuclear transports and sensitive information under the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003. The OCNS is part of the Health and Safety Executive and conducts its regulatory activities on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

The Civil Nuclear Constabulary is administered by the Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA), a non-departmental public body set up by the Energy Act 2004. Under this Act, the director of Civil Nuclear Security, who has formal links with the national intelligence services, directs the CNPA on security matters including which sites require an armed response and minimum police numbers required to fulfil this.

The CNPA is part of central government accounts, but they are expected to recover their full economic costs each year from those to whom they provide services, although not to make a profit. Those receiving statutory services from the CNPA are under a statutory obligation to pay the associated costs. Chiefly, these are the nuclear operators whose sites the CNC police.

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