Scottish ministers will lobby the UK government to close the loopholes which let the Faslane and Coulport bases on the Clyde escape statutory scrutiny by government watchdogs.

In response to a report by the nuclear weapons working group, the Scottish government also said it will ask the Ministry of Defence to tell local authorities when nuclear weapons convoys are coming through their areas. At the moment, councils are not informed.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We also support the recommendation that naval sites should be subject to the same regulation as civil nuclear sites. On these matters we will be writing to the UK government asking that the Ministry of Defence takes steps to implement these changes.”

In September 2008, the Sunday Herald reported safety blunders at Faslane and Coulport had reached a record high, with 100 recorded between June 2006 and May 2007. In April this year, a series of radioactive leaks into the Clyde from nuclear submarines was disclosed.

The bases are exempt from provisions in the 1993 Radioactive Substances Act, and not licensed under the 1965 Nuclear Installations Act. It means the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Health and Safety Executive have no legal powers over them.

The working group’s report, published online last week, was welcomed by the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament “as a useful starting point for action within the limitations of devolved powers”. Privately, however, activists are disappointed that the working group is now being wound up.

The Scottish government has the group’s work is finished and no more meetings are planned.