Dounreay Boss Welcomed Funding Announcement

7th November 2010

Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd recently welcomed an announcement about how much public money will be available to continue nuclear clean-up in the UK.

DSRL manages the closure of the site on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which today confirmed that its total expenditure, including income generated, would be maintained at current levels of around £3bn a year.

The NDA currently provides in the region of £150 million a year to DSRL to deliver the site clean-up and closure programme.

Future allocations for each NDA site will be announced in December when the organisation publishes its draft business plan.

Simon Middlemas, managing director of DSRL, said: "Today's announcement sends a clear and imperative message to the industry.

"It signals the priority attached by the UK Government to attacking the major chemical and radiological hazards at legacy sites like Dounreay.

"Our responsibility will be to assure Government and the NDA that we continue to squeeze costs, spending the absolute minimum needed to get the job done safely, and to provide the taxpayer with the best possible value for money.

"In an era of unprecedented reduction in public spending, we must ensure we do not spend a single penny more than is absolutely necessary to make this site safe for future generations."