Tuesday 8 March 2011

UK gives £4m to nuclear security fund

UK gives £4m to nuclear security fund

The government will contribute £4m to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Nuclear Security Fund for the years 2011-2013.

The funding was unveiled at the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting this week in Vienna and will go towards support work to enhance global nuclear security.

Meanwhile, the government has published the Global Threat Reduction Programme annual report for 2010, which sets out progress on reducing the threat of dangerous nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical materials and expertise. The report highlights the work being done to make safe and sustainable nuclear power plants in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Energy Minister Charles Hendry today said: "It is vital that we do all we can to secure nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological materials. Doing this directly benefits our national security.

Also this week, Tim Yeo, chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, said that the government needed to step-up the pace of its nuclear programme.

"Given the lead time for developing a new nuclear power station, we really do need to get on with this quickly," he said. "We have some companies who are keen to get ahead, so the most important thing now is to simplify the planning system. The government's proposed abolition of the Infrastructure Planning Commission has created an element of doubt about the planning arrangements but the technology within the industry is ready to go."

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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