Government proposes single nuclear oversight body

The government has today announced plans to streamline the UK's different nuclear oversight bodies through the creation of a "single, easily identifiable body" for regulating the civil nuclear energy sector.

Under the proposals, which are now open for consultation, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Nuclear Directorate will be extended to take responsibility for the Department for Transport's (DfT) Transport Security and Contingencies Directorate and Radioactove Materials Transport Team, which govern the safe transport of nuclear materials.

It will also formally take over the operation of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the UK Safeguards Office, both of which were moved under the control of the HSE in 2007.

The expanded body will become a Statutory Corporation with greater organisational and financial freedom from both government and the HSE, although it will still be required to report to ministers and will continue to be managed under the auspices of the health watchdog.

Energy minister Lord Hunt said the changes would strengthen the UK's nuclear safety regime at a time when regulators and inspectors are facing an increased workload as a result of "the UK’s new nuclear programme, ageing nuclear power reactors, and the decommissioning of legacy nuclear plants".

The announcement follows recent reports that the HSE is concerned it could soon face a shortfall of inspectors.

According to Observer reports earlier this month, a report compiled earlier this year by the government's chief nuclear inspector, Mike Weightman, warned that the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) has struggled to fill vacancies and will require a further 36 staff by 2011 as it prepares to assess a new wave of nuclear planning applications.

A spokesman for the HSE said that while "recruitment and retention is likely to require continued attention over the next couple of years", the NII had put in place a number of measures to attract new staff, including above-inflation pay rises for inspectors and the opening of new offices in Cheltenham and London.

He added that the NII had about 280 applicants for its most recent recruitment campaign and was now anticipating that the timeline for new reactor assessments and plans for the first new reactor to begin operating in 2017 will be realised.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change told BusinessGreen.com that the creation of a single new regulatory body would strengthen efforts to appoint more inspectors, while sending a further signal to the global nuclear industry that the UK is serious about its plans to build a new fleet of reactors.

"The new organisation will be independent, which means it will have greater discretion over employment contracts and conditions," he said.