Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has set out clearly its firm opposition to nuclear weapons and has on several occasions called on the UK Government to commit to the withdrawal of Trident and to cancel plans for its replacement.

The Scottish Government has not however discussed timescales for removing nuclear weapons from Scotland with the United Kingdom Government.

On 21 November 2011 the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced that it plans to transport Dounreay Fast Reactor breeder material, which contains plutonium, from Dounreay to Sellafield by road and rail for reprocessing. This plutonium is not considered to be waste.

The safety and security of this material are reserved matters and regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

It is for SEPA, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator to satisfy themselves that there are no environmental or safety risks from the decommissioned and defuelled nuclear powered submarines currently berthed at Rosyth.

Nevertheless, the Scottish Government have significant concerns with the findings of the 2010 Assurance Report from the Defence Nuclear Environment and Safety Board. While we note that the Report states that none of the issues covered in the Report, including the decommissioning and disposal of the nuclear powered submarines, present an immediate safety concern, collectively ‘they pose the risk that it will become increasingly difficult to maintain that the defence nuclear programmes are being managed with due regard to the protection of the workforce, the public and the environment’.

We are seeking clarity from the Ministry of Defence on the steps that are being taken to address the serious issues identified in that Report.

Enforcement action is primarily a matter for the relevant planning authority.

Planning enforcement is primarily the responsibility of the planning authority within whose area development takes place. Monitoring and enforcement of planning conditions are therefore matters for Aberdeenshire Council as the relevant planning authority.

I am not aware of any such discussions as the monitoring of planning conditions is a matter for Aberdeenshire Council.

There are a wide range of enforcement powers available to planning authorities under The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended by the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006) to enable them to ensure compliance with planning control and to remediate the effects of any unauthorised development. Details of the available powers and guidance on their use is set out in Planning Circular 10/2009: Planning Enforcement, published online at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/09/16092848/0.

It is for the relevant planning authority, once they have determined that a breach of planning control has occurred to determine what power, or combination of powers, it is appropriate to use to secure compliance with planning control. Scottish Ministers have no authority under planning legislation to intervene in such decisions.

Any breaches of regulatory consents are a matter for the relevant consenting authority.

The monitoring and enforcement of those planning conditions is a matter for Aberdeenshire Council as planning authority.

Monitoring and enforcement of planning conditions are matters for the relevant planning authority. The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with Aberdeenshire Council regarding enforcement matters relating to this development.