To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2010, Official Report, column 620, on uranium: mining, which respondents' concerns over the impact of uranium mining abroad led to him seeking further information on the safety of uranium mining; from which organisations and sources he sought further information; whether the contract placed with Integrated Decision Management followed a competitive tendering process; and what qualifications Integrated Decision Management demonstrated to show suitability to provide technical advice on this matter. (319166)

All responses to the Government’s consultation on the Nuclear Industry Association’s application for the Regulatory Justification of new nuclear power station designs have been placed on the Department’s website at:

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/open/nuclear/nuclear.aspx

The further consultation on my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s proposed decisions that the API000 and EPR nuclear power station designs are Justified under the terms of the Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004 sets out the further information on the safety regime for uranium mining which he took into account.

The placing of a contract with Integrated Decision Management followed a competitive tendering process in which they and their partners the National Nuclear Laboratory demonstrated the ability to supply specialist technical support to help with the Regulatory Justification process.