asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What assessment they have made of the value of the United Kingdom’s membership of the seven-nation initiative on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament; and what are their intentions with regard to the future work of the group, particularly in the run-up to the next review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2010.

My Lords, we believe that the seven-country initiative has served to broaden understanding of positions on disarmament and non-proliferation and to extend consensus on these important issues. The seven-nation initiative will rightly look to encourage progress in all areas of the NPT during this review cycle and I am pleased to say that the Foreign Secretary recently confirmed to the Norwegian Foreign Minister that the United Kingdom remains a committed member.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that helpful reply. Does he agree that this grouping, which reaches across the divide between developed and developing countries and between nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states, offers a possible way of working towards a greater degree of compromise than was reached when these matters were discussed in 2005? Can he update the House on progress towards negotiations at the International Atomic Energy Agency on a uranium enrichment bank or drawing facility, which is one of the proposals favoured by this group of countries?

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his comments. It is a good group, which is broadly defined. All members of the group have among their key foreign policy objectives the intention to work on the issue of non-proliferation specifically. There is in general a strong willingness to see the work on the bank improve, but we are also trying to ensure that our initiative on the question of the bond is also part of the formula. There is a strong belief that this may be one of the best ways of unlocking the impasse that has existed for some years.

My Lords, is the Minister aware that earlier this year a remarkable letter was written to the Wall Street Journal by Dr Kissinger, Mr Schultz, the former Republican Secretary of State, the former Minister of Defence for President Clinton and Senator Nunn, which said that the goal must now be the abolition of all nuclear weapons? I think that the Minister would agree that that is a rather surprising group and that in light of that it is important that the United Kingdom is seen to be taking the lead on issues such as the fuel energy bank and the cut-off for fissile materials if we are to stop the possibility of a dangerous rush towards proliferation on the part of non-nuclear powers.

My Lords, the Government have been clear that the whole issue of the nuclear materials bank would be an extremely important move. The difficulties have been practical ones over many years of defining what should be in the bank, given the wide variety of fissionable materials. That was one of the reasons why we worked on it and came up with the enrichment bond. I emphasise that point because the IAEA also feels that this might be a route through to full compliance with the non-proliferation treaty and one which should engage the energies of all of those thinking of nuclear fuel rather than nuclear weapons.

My Lords, it is very good news that the Minister is confirming that we are continuing to work on the nuclear fuel bank idea with the IAEA, as it feels that that is the way forward. Does he agree that the IAEA is firm in its view that there is a vast expansion of civil nuclear power ahead, making it all the more important to enable countries to enjoy civil nuclear power without having to develop their own domestic nuclear fuel cycle? That is the important message to develop now, given that the NPT review treaty in 2005 was rather a failure and the next one in 2010 will fail as well unless we come up with a lot of new ideas.

My Lords, that is broadly right. The 2005 review treaty was very disappointing, given the desire of so many more countries to develop nuclear fuel strategies. I am glad to say that the most recent nuclear non-proliferation treaty preparatory conference—PrepCon, as I understand it is known by those who are involved—which finished last Friday was a lot more successful. For the first time, we have an agenda that the Iranians, as well as everyone else, have committed themselves to engaging in. That is a breakthrough for diplomacy on this front. I would not want to go so far as to say it is a final success, but it has opened the way for negotiation rather than just the bartering of insults.

My Lords, this is a seven-nation initiative on non-proliferation and disarmament. At the next non-proliferation treaty conference, how far does the Minister expect the disarmament element to apply to the existing nuclear powers as well as to potential nuclear powers?

My Lords, that is an extremely difficult question, as I have no doubt the noble Lord appreciates. Not everybody has made a commitment to cutting their nuclear arsenals. I am very proud of the fact that since the beginning of this process the United Kingdom has cut its nuclear arsenal by approximately 80 per cent. We have moved from having three platforms for delivery to one platform for delivery. If others were to take that as being an example of good will and good progress, we should get much more progress out of everybody else in that direction.

My Lords, will a further effort be made to persuade all those nuclear powers that are not part of the non-proliferation treaty to join it?

My Lords, there is a consistent effort to do that. Some aspects of it have come up in your Lordships’ House from time to time, in particular in relation to trying to keep the Middle East a nuclear-free area. We know that not everybody has committed themselves to the non-proliferation treaty. This Government, indeed Governments on all sides, have regarded this as an imperative. It is important that everybody comes under treaty obligations so that there can be proper policing of all the developments of the most dangerous weapons conceivable.

My Lords, does my noble friend consider that the plans to renew Trident are a step toward nuclear disarmament?

My Lords, I recall that when we held the Trident debate, my noble and learned friend made some very persuasive points. I made the point that we are a recognised nuclear power, we regard ourselves as having legitimate interests and we are not, at the moment, in a position to believe that the world will become so secure and peaceful that we can readily give up our ability to protect ourselves. In those circumstances, there has to be a credible means of delivering nuclear weapons. I make this point because that is our platform. We have one, and it should be an effective one if we are serious about that component of our defence.