Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent Nuclear Site Event Reports on (a) equipment failures, (b) human error, (c) procedural shortcomings and (d) near-misses.

I cannot provide specific detail for the events as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of any relevant forces. However, I can assure the hon. Member that none of the events listed caused harm to the health of any member of staff or to any member of the public and none have resulted in any radiological impact to the environment.

The table below shows the number of Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) at Coulport recorded between for the most recent financial year. These are shown according to agreed categorisation:

In line with Industry Good Practice and in common with other defence and civil nuclear sites, His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde has a well-established system for raising NSERs.

NSERs are raised to foster a robust safety culture that learns from experience, whether that is of equipment failures, human error, procedural failings, documentation shortcomings or near-misses.