The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, chaired by Lord Broers, will conduct a short inquiry looking at Radioactive Waste Management. The inquiry follows the publication of the final report of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) and the Government response published in October 2006. The inquiry will also follow up the Select Committee's own reports on the subject.

The inquiry will focus mainly on issues arising from Government's response to CoRWM's recommendations. In particular, the Committee is interested in the following questions:

Implementing the recommendations

Is Government's decision to assign responsibility for taking the process of geological disposal forward to the NDA, while reconstituting CoRWM in an "advisory" role, consistent with CoRWM's recommendation that a new independent body be established to "oversee" the process? Will CoRWM's new terms of reference allow the implementation programme, as envisaged in the CoRWM report, to be carried out successfully? How might the relationship between CoRWM and NDA develop? How will scientific and technical expertise be brought into the process? How will close liaison between all involved organisations, regulators and Government departments be ensured in order to keep the implementation programme on track?

Plans for Government consultation on a framework for geological disposal

How are the draft criteria being prepared? Is the end of April 2007 deadline for advice from NDA and CoRWM to inform the consultation a realistic timescale? Until the "new" CoRWM has been appointed, how much scientific expertise will be available to NDA, especially on its proposals for a repository development plan which will feed into the consultation? To what extent will the Government consultation process take account of CoRWM's, and others', experience of public and stakeholder engagement in this area?

Interim storage

How will NDA take account of CoRWM's recommendations on interim storage? What are the timescales and technical challenges in developing interim storage, for up to a century, of high level waste? Will the principle of volunteerism be applied to the process of interim storage site selection?

Spent fuel and reprocessing

Following concerns expressed in CoRWM's report on the safety of spent fuel storage, what are NDA's plans for reviewing the arrangements for storage of spent fuel? Is NDA's ownership of the Sellafield complex and its commercial reprocessing operations and contractors, including the Sellafield MOX plant, consistent with NDA's new role as implementing body for the long-term management of nuclear waste?

Skills

How will Government address the increased need for skilled and professional personnel in the nuclear energy sector over the coming decades given the general shortage of SET graduates? Would a continued shortage affect the implementation of the geological disposal programme? Will the Nuclear National Skills Academy overcome these problems?