1. Will the First Minister make a statement on burying radioactive waste in Wales? OAQ53729

Thank you, Llywydd. The Welsh Government has not identified any sites or communities where geological disposal of radioactive waste could take place, and there is no intention to do so. A facility can only be built in Wales if there is a community willing to host it, and it secures full planning, safety and environmental consents.

Thank for your answer. According to your Government's geological disposal of radioactive waste consultation document—and I quote,

'Radioactive waste disposal is a devolved matter—the Welsh Government is responsible for determining the policy for this within Wales.'

Now, I'd ask for greater clarity on that, because I've been given contradictory advice on that particular issue. We know that it's the case for both Scotland and Northern Ireland, but my understanding is that this isn't necessarily the case for Wales. Pre the Wales Act 2017, Wales had competence over, for instance, environmental protection, including the disposal of hazardous waste, so you could argue that maybe there was relevance there, but of course it was silent on nuclear. And the Wales Act 2017 makes it explicitly clear that all matters relating to nuclear energy are reserved and not devolved. So, I would like a firmer explanation as to why you think this matter is devolved to Wales, but also of course, more importantly, whilst you say that it's up to communities to will it to happen, then clearly I would encourage you to follow the lead of other Governments in the UK that have said that they just don't want it.

I thank the Member for that question. I can say to him quite straightforwardly that the advice that I have received is that geological disposal of radioactive waste is a matter for the Welsh Government in Wales, and I've never seen anything put to me that suggests that there's any ambiguity about where responsibility for that lies. That is why we published our document on 25 January, which was a Welsh-specific document.

Now, the position we have set out is the one that Llyr Gruffydd referred to, in which we say that the only way in which geological disposal of radioactive waste in Wales could take place would be if a community itself came forward with that proposition. The local authority within which that community lies also has rights under the policy that we have proposed, and a local authority could declare that it does not want to see any geological disposal within its local authority boundaries, and that would override anything that that local community might say. So, it is entirely in the hands of local people and local authorities as to whether or not this would go ahead, and the Welsh Government quite certainly has not identified any sites or communities, and we have no intention of doing so.

Mark—

The point I would just make in the answer to the Member's final point, though, is this: this radioactive waste has been created by us. It is in the lifetime of people in this Chamber where this waste has been created. And we do have a responsibility to deal with the consequences of what we have done, rather than simply saying that we will play no part in bearing that responsibility, that somebody else must do it instead, or that we hand it on to future generations that come after us to clear up the mess that we have left. Because that mess is there; it has already been created. And while I agree with almost everything that the Member said when he introduced it, I also say to him, and to others, that it's not a responsibility that we can simply look away from and say that we will play no part in its solution.

Well, as you say, this is about higher activity waste that's been accumulating over 60 years, and you referred to the statement by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs. I understand that she said a geological disposal facility provides a permanent solution to the long-term management of higher activity waste, rather than leaving the responsibility to future generations. Given that the UK Government, through the radioactive waste management subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has carried out geological surveys, and has been carrying out consultation events in Swansea, Llandudno and at six sites in England, what engagement are you having with those other potential six sites as you said there's a collective responsibility to address this, and geology will ultimately determine where it's safe to put this stuff? 

Llywydd, the Welsh Government will have no engagement of that sort, for the reason that I set out in opening my answer to Llyr Gruffydd. We will not and have not identified such sites, and we don't intend to do so. It is for any local community that is willing to come forward to do so, and if no community comes forward, there will be no disposal here in Wales.

Even if a community does come forward, there is a very strict and lengthy process, lasting up to 20 years, in which any initial expression of interest would have to be negotiated. That local community would have the right to withdraw from those discussions at any point in that 20-year process, and that process would come to an end. And, as I said, any local authority within which such a community were located would have the power to override that expression of interest by that local community by declaring that, as a local authority area, it is not prepared to see geological disposal within its boundaries.