NDA Launches Consultation On New 3 Year plan

9th December 2014

Consultation began on 8th December 2014 on the Draft Business Plan 2015 to 2018 that sets out the key objectives and plans for delivering the NDA priorities over the next three years.

The total planned expenditure for 2015/16 is £3.31 billion, of which £2.09 billion will be funded by UK government and £1.22 billion by income from commercial operations. Planned expenditure on site programmes will be £2.91 billion, while non-site expenditure is expected to be £0.19 billion. This non-site expenditure includes skills development, socio-economic support to communities, research and development, insurance and pension costs, fees to SLCs, implementing geological disposal and NDA operating costs.

Draft Business Plan: Financial year beginning April 2015 to financial year ending March 2018

John Clarke NDA CEO said:"This year sees the 10th anniversary of the NDA. During the past decade we have completed the restructuring of the UK civil decommissioning programme and introduced a decommissioning mindset to much of our estate. The challenge for the next decade is to build upon this and deliver a number of our sites into their interim end states having completed bulk decommissioning, along with the removal of the majority of the nuclear waste".

On the 1 September 2014, following on from an intensive two-year competition process, the ownership of two Site Licence Companies, Magnox Limited and Research Sites Restoration Limited, was transferred to a new Parent Body Organisation, the Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP). CFP, as new commercial partners in the delivery of our decommissioning strategy, will manage the sites under a revised contracting mechanism. This will drive prioritisation of funding for high risk and hazard legacy waste facilities across the combined Magnox and RSRL sites, whilst also securing an anticipated minimum of £1 billion of savings for the taxpayer. CFP intends to embed newly consolidated lifetime programmes for the twelve sites, covering the first three years of operation, by April 2015.

Some excellent work over the past year by Magnox has paved the way for the continued operation of the Wylfa nuclear reactor until December 2015. This continued operation will allow us to generate income on electricity sales, which in turn reduces the demand on the taxpayer. Wylfa is the world's last operating Magnox power station and turning it off will mark the end of energy production by the UK's first generation of commercial nuclear power stations.

At Dounreay, we have requested additional work scope to be incorporated into the overall life time plan. The end of the financial year 2014/15 will bring clarity on how this work will be incorporated into the site's programme. In the interim, Dounreay Site Restoration Limited continues to deliver savings, pressing forward with its decommissioning mission, with two Low Level Waste vaults now operational.

Work this year at Sellafield has focussed on developing a demanding, yet realistic, performance plan with prioritisation of risk management and delivery against the high priority and high risk programmes. During 2015/16, Sellafield will embed this new performance plan alongside the Sellafield Excellence Plan, with a drive to deliver long-term, sustainable, improved performance.

For the NDA itself, the upcoming year will be dominated by the development and public consultation of the third edition of our overarching decommissioning strategy. With publication anticipated for March 2016, efforts will be concentrated on fully re-affirming the strategic direction of travel, and confirming that it will deliver the long-term outcomes required for the success of our mission. This strategic review will take place alongside preparation for what is expected to be a very challenging Spending Review in 2015.

Critical enabler initiatives will provide estate-wide support, particularly with reference to information governance, asset management, socio economics, skills maintenance and supply chain development. Notably, the NDA's Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) agenda will continue to be pursued, with the intention of reflecting the UK Government's Growth Agenda at all levels of the supply chain. Furthermore, during 2015/16 we plan to secure a design and build contractor for the build of the NDA Nuclear Archive in Caithness, a key element of delivering our commitments around knowledge management and socio-economics.

The consultation begins on 08 December 2014 and will close on 30 Jan 2015.

You can respond to the consultation by letter or email via the contact details below:

Address

NDA Business Planning
Business Plan Consultation
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Herdus House
Westlakes Science and Technology Park
Moor Row
Cumbria
CA24 3HU

Email businessplanning[AT]nda.gov.uk

Dounreay Details from the report -

Planned expenditure for 2015/16 - £209 million

Key Facts
Location - Caithness, Scotland
Area - 62 hectares (including 12 hectares designated for LLW facility)
Status of land - all 62 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence

Current Key Milestones
2017 - Complete Dounreay Fast Reactor fuel removal from reactor
2022 - Decontamination of Dounreay Fast Reactor structures suitable for demolition
2024 - Prototype Fast Reactor liquid metal residues destroyed
2027 - Shaft backfi lled and capped
2027-2029 - Interim End State achieved