| Author (Corporate) | United Kingdom: Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy |
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| Publisher | GOV.UK |
| Series Title | Collection |
| Publication Date | October 2017 |
| Content Type | Report |
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Documents related to the Nuclear Safeguards Bill, which would establish a UK nuclear safeguards regime as the United Kingdom left the European Union's Euratom. [August 2018: Note that this page was withdrawn in August 2018, although still accessible through the source hyperlink. This is because the Bill has now been adopted as the Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018 - see related hyperlinks below for further information]. Further information + replace the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s existing nuclear safeguards purposes with a new nuclear safeguards purposes definition The UK had been a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency since its formation in 1957 and would continue to apply civil nuclear safeguards in the UK. Background The UK Government had said that Euratom and the EU were 'uniquely legally joined' such that 'triggering Article 50 therefore also entailed giving notice to leave Euratom'. The legal basis of this point was debated. Leaving Euratom had the potential to impact the UK’s current nuclear operations, including fuel supply, waste management, cooperation with other nuclear states, and research. Industry warned of a 'cliff edge' exit that could cause 'major disruption to business across the whole nuclear fuel cycle'. The UK would need to take on a number of measures to leave Euratom smoothly and some are concerned that the timetable for achieving these measures is ambitious. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee of the House of Commons had recommended delaying the departure from Euratom to give the nuclear industry time to set up alternative arrangements. However, the Queen’s Speech on the 21 June 2017 contained a Nuclear Safeguards Bill to give the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation powers to take on the role and responsibilities of Euratom, required to meet international safeguards, and nuclear non-proliferation obligations. Euratom would continue regulating the UK nuclear industry until the exit from the EU. The UK hosts significant nuclear research work and current funding, such as that for the Culham Centre, will continue until 2018. Beyond that point it is unclear what the impacts of withdrawing from Euratom will be on nuclear regulation and research in the UK. |
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| Source Link | https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/nuclear-safeguards-bill |
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| Subject Categories | Culture, Education and Research, Energy |
| Countries / Regions | United Kingdom |
