The Ministry of Defence has confirmed it will begin publishing annual statistics on nuclear safety incidents at HM Naval Base Clyde, home to the UK’s strategic deterrent.
In a written reply to Susan Murray, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dunbartonshire, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said: “Nuclear safety is of paramount importance and is a critical aspect of our commitments. As such, HMNB Clyde complies with international best practice as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Nuclear safety at these sites is independently overseen by the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), who have robust powers to address concerns and recommend changes where necessary.”
Pollard confirmed that the Defence Secretary has authorised a new commitment to transparency: “With this in mind, the Secretary of State has authorised the annual release of the statistics on Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) for HMNB Clyde. NSERs are a means of classifying the significance of safety incidents with actual or potential impact and are recommended by the IAEA to ensure a robust safety culture that learns from experience.”
The minister stressed that while overall statistics would now be published, detailed breakdowns of each incident would not be released. “I hope that the hon. Member will understand that releasing specific information for each NSER, when coupled with other information that may already be in the public domain through other means, would not only enable adversaries to make deductions about the operability, capability and effectiveness of the facilities and functions at HMNB Clyde, but would also provide invaluable information about submarine availability. Such information would prove extremely useful to hostile powers and groups in enabling them to target, disrupt and degrade the effectiveness of RN activities.”
The decision means the public will for the first time receive regular data on incident classifications at Clyde, though without operational details that could affect submarine security and readiness.
Transparency!?
Nuclear safety aside, greater transparency was one of the stated aims when Labour came to power.
Since then, equipment plans have vanished into the smoke.
I saw a FOIA request yesterday where the MoD wouldn’t reveal the orbat of 29 RA, whose Batteries were well known.
That followed on from a FOIA linked on this website by Seb, concerning the mythical number of launchers for Sky Sabre, which we’ve discussed endlessly here.
And sure enough, the MoD won’t even divulge on a FOIA how many 16RA use, or the composition of other kit in the Regiment.
Transparency?
Or smoke and mirrors to hide the state the forces are in?
I suggest the latter.
On Nuclear incidents, I thought these were published already fairly regularly?