The safety of the MoD's nuclear programmes is under threat in the medium term from a lack of finance and suitably competent staff, according to the Defence Nuclear Environment and Safety Board (DNESB), which oversees nuclear and radiological safety and environmental protection in the MoD.
Government Policy latest news
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NIS Update: June – July 2010
REDUCTION IN UK NUCLEAR WARHEAD NUMBERS BEGINS
The Ministry of Defence has announced that the programme for implementing reductions in the number of UK nuclear warheads outlined in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) has now commenced.
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Boundary Hall development at AWE: Inspector says no, Minister says yes
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, has decided to grant planning permission for the controversial 'Boundary Hall' housing development in Tadley, ignoring advice from the independent inspector at last year's planning inquiry into the development.
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Deteriorating military safety performance puts public and environment at risk
An official annual report has found “significant weaknesses” in the Ministry of Defence's safety performance and plots a deteriorating trend in military safety.
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A tale of two reviews
How much of an issue will plans to replace the UK's Trident nuclear weapons be during the next general election campaign? Although the election is not scheduled to take place until 2015, the battlelines for the Trident debate are already being drawn.
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Review of UK nuclear safety identifies lessons from Fukushima
The Health and Safety Executive's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has completed an interim assessment of the implications of the Fukushima nuclear emergency in Japan and concluded that the UK nuclear industry can learn a number of lessons from the incident, although the current operations of UK nuclear plants need not be curtailed.
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Trident Initial Gate – here at last!
Word cloud showing the frequency of words in the Ministry of Defence Initial Gate report.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox has announced that approval has been given to go ahead with the detailed design phase of development of new submarines planned to replace the current Vanguard class vessels which carry the UK's Trident nuclear weapons.
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NIS warns of risks of plutonium nuclear fuel fabrication
Photo: The plutonium storage vault at Sellafield.
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Safety risks reach red at Ministry of Defence
Top-level Ministry of Defence (MoD) reports from the Admirals responsible for the UK's military nuclear safety reveal that a lack of adequate and resources and suitably competent staff may place safety and the environment at risk in the medium term.
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Watch out for stealth spending on Trident replacement
Greenpeace UK and CND have been doing some sterling work to establish how much money will be spent on the Trident replacement programme before Parliament decides whether to give the final go-ahead for the programme after the next general election.
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The case against CASD
Events organised by the Global Strategy Forum are always worth attending, and the Forum's recent lunchtime seminar on nuclear non-proliferation and arms control was definitely on my 'must go' list. With former Defence Secretaries Des Browne (now Lord Browne of Ladyton) and Sir Malcolm Rifkind discussing the question 'Can we really count down to zero', the meeting certainly promised the fresh thinking and active debate that the Forum was set up to provide.
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Labour’s new line-up – no change on Trident?
Following the Labour Party Conference and elections for party Leadership and Shadow Cabinet posts, Labour is now beginning the process of reshaping itself and reviewing its policies ready to fight the next general election. How far will this review see a re-evaluation of the dedicated support shown by the party over the past two decades for retaining and replacing UK's nuclear weapons?