Policy paper

Nuclear Security Summit 2016

Published 1 April 2016

The Prime Minister led the UK delegation at the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC on 31 March and 1 April, which brought together over 50 States to strengthen nuclear security and address the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism.

The Nuclear Security Summit process was launched by President Obama in Washington in 2010, with further Summits held in Seoul in 2012 and The Hague in 2014. It has sought to reduce the amount of potentially dangerous nuclear and radiological material, consolidate it in as few places as possible, improve the security of material and facilities, accelerate ratification of key international agreements, and strengthen the international nuclear security architecture. The process has raised the profile of nuclear security issues and delivered real benefits, including supporting the removal of almost 3000kg of Highly Enriched Uranium and plutonium from 27 countries.

The Summit Communiqué, UK National Statement and Progress Report and other key documents will be published on the Nuclear Security Summit 2016 website.

1. The UK contribution

At the Summit the Prime Minister announced new commitments to strengthen global nuclear security, including to undertake the largest single movement of Highly Enriched Uranium, lead efforts to further strengthen the cyber security of nuclear plants and invest over £10 million during 2016 to improve nuclear security standards worldwide. The UK National Statement to the Summit sets out the continuing UK contribution, and our delivery on commitments made at previous Summits is set out in the UK Progress Report.

Read the press release on the Prime Minister’s announcements.

1.1 Global Threat Reduction Programme

The UK continues its commitment to its Global Threat Reduction Programme, which was established in 2002 and supports improvements in nuclear and radiological security worldwide. Since 2014, the UK has invested £20.8 million in Global Threat Reduction across 20 countries. UK financial and expert assistance has protected facilities, strengthened security culture and disposed of sensitive material. Further information on the programme can be found at the following case study.

1.2 Cyber Security at Nuclear Facilities

The UK led a new initiative at the Summit on cyber security of industrial control and plant systems at nuclear facilities. The UK will host two international workshops in 2016 to share best practice among states, nuclear operators and the supply chain. The workshops will focus on areas including threats and vulnerabilities, responding to and recovering from incidents, and the challenges of managing risks at both legacy and new build nuclear facilities. The UK will also be conducting a joint cyber security exercise with the US next year on the civil nuclear industry to test our systems against attack.

1.3 Maritime Security Best Practice Guide

At the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit, the UK and US led a joint agreement to enhance the security of the maritime supply chain. The voluntary agreement, signed by 13 countries, sought to support international efforts to remove nuclear and radiological material out of regulatory control from the global maritime supply chain, while effectively deterring, detecting and responding to trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive material. In order to fulfil this commitment the UK and US co-hosted a workshop to discuss and agree a statement of best practices. This statement has now been turned into a best practice guide, which expands on the findings of the workshop and draws on the practical experiences of the workshop participants.

1.4 Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism

The UK has been a member of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) since its inception in 2006 and currently holds a position on the leadership team. We continue to actively support GICNT by sending UK experts to meetings, workshops and exercises. The UK also hosts international workshops under the GICNT umbrella, the most recently being a workshop on emergency planning and response to radiological incidents in London in November 2015. The UK endorsed the ‘Joint Statement on the Contributions of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism to Enhancing Nuclear Security’, which was released in advance of the Nuclear Security Summit.