To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often (a) Devonport, (b) Rosyth, (c) Aldermaston, (d) Faslane and (e) each other site associated with Trident is decontaminated; what his most recent estimate is of the costs of decontamination for each site; and to which environmental standard decontamination cleans the site. (103866)

[holding answer 27 November 2006]: Decontamination of whole sites is not needed or routinely undertaken. Any instance requiring localised decontamination is dealt with as it arises. Standards of decontamination comply with the requirements of the regulators, including the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and the MOD’s Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator and Defence Ordnance Safety Group, and are conducted in accordance with the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (RSA93) and Ionising Radiations Regulations (IRR).

Decontamination costs are included in the nuclear liabilities published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts. A breakdown of the liabilities was provided in the answer my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary gave on 24 July 2006, Official Report, column 778W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the expected lifespan is of the guidance systems and flight control electronics of Trident D5 missiles. (103906)

I am withholding details about the lifespan of individual sub-systems within the overall Trident missile system as this could prejudice national security and international relations. Obsolescence management programmes are, however, in place to ensure that no single sub-system will limit the life of the overall weapon system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what public consultation is proposed on the replacement of Trident; and if he will make a statement. (106191)

I refer the hon. Member to the statement today by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what options for the replacement of the Trident nuclear deterrent have been considered by his Department in the preparation of the forthcoming White Paper; (106408)

[holding answers 30 November 2006]: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the statement today by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the running costs have been of the strategic nuclear deterrent in each of the past 10 years, broken down by main budget heading. (104292)

[holding answer 29 November 2006]: Since the Trident nuclear deterrent became operational in 1994, annual expenditure for capital and operating costs, including the costs for the Atomic Weapons Establishment, has ranged between 3 and 5.5 per cent. of the annual defence budget.