Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the BBC Panorama programme broadcast on 5 September concerning safety and its management at Sellafield; whether they plan to take any remedial action in the light of that programme; and if so, what.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government disagrees with Panorama’s presentation of safety at Sellafield. The site is a legacy of the UK’s early nuclear programmes. The independent Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has confirmed that it remains safe. The Government’s objective is to decommission its facilities safely, cost-effectively and as quickly as possible. This is an enormously complex task, but we are making significant progress and we expect that to continue.

Our nuclear industry is one of the most highly regulated in the world and the ONR inspects all civil nuclear sites on a regular basis to ensure high levels of safety. The ONR have stated that hazard and risk reduction at Sellafield remains their number one priority, with over 50 highly qualified and experienced inspectors working to ensure the site operates as safely and securely as possible.