Draft Business Plan: financial year beginning April 2018 to financial year ending March 2021

Question 1

Introduction to the consultation

Accepted Answer

In this consultation, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority wants to hear from members of the public, nuclear regulators, employees within our Site Licence Companies, trade unions, local authorities, Site Stakeholder Groups, Non-Governmental Organisations and any other organisation or public body. In your response please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation. If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, please make it clear who the organization represents and, where applicable, how you assembled the views of the members.

We are happy to receive comments on any aspect of our Draft Business Plan and these will be considered where appropriate. When considering responses to this consultation, the NDA will give greater weight to responses that are based on argument and evidence, rather than simple expressions of support or opposition.

This consultation begins on 11 December 2017 and will close on 4 February 2018.

How to respond

By letter, fax or email

You can respond by letter, fax or email using the contact details below. Please address all responses to NDA Business Planning, Business Plan Consultation.

Address to:

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

Fax: 01946 518431 Email: businessplanning@nda.gov.uk

Help with queries

Any questions or queries relating to this consultation may also be directed through the above channels.

Consultation and Conduct

If you have any comments about the way in which this consultation has been conducted please mark them ‘Business Plan Consultation’ and send them using the above channels.

Confidentiality and data protection

Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004).

If you want information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the FOIA, there is a statutory Code of Practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence. In view of this, it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information, we will take full account of your explanation, but cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the NDA.

The NDA will process your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act and, in the majority of circumstances, will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.

Additional Copies

You may make copies of this consultation document without seeking permission. We are not producing hard copies of the consultation document. However, if you require a printed copy, please email businessplanning@nda.gov.uk

Consultation criteria from the Consultation Principles

Next Steps

The NDA will consider responses it receives to the consultation, and outputs from any NDA events, and revise the Draft Business Plan as appropriate. Subject to approval by the UK and Scottish Governments, the NDA will publish the final version of this document in late March 2018.

Question 2

Foreword

Accepted Answer

NDA Chief Executive, David Peattie: — NDA Chief Executive, David Peattie

Our mission is clear, clean up the UK’s civil nuclear legacy.

We must conduct it safely, securely and cost-effectively, with the protection of people and the environment at the forefront of our minds.

The end of nuclear fuel reprocessing at Sellafield will begin in 2018 with the closure of the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant, also known as THORP, followed by the closure of the Magnox Reprocessing Plant in 2020. These are landmark events for us and for the wider community in and around Sellafield, the UK’s largest and most complex nuclear site.

We will have taken a huge stride in advancing our mission when the Magnox site at Bradwell, in Essex, becomes the first NDA site to enter a state of care and maintenance. This means that by 2019 all mobile hazards and the vast majority of the buildings will have been cleared. The main reactor building will be sealed and Bradwell will be left in a safe condition before the remaining buildings are finally demolished towards the end of the 21st century. This achievement will be a fantastic demonstration of our workforce’s ability to safely deal with all the hazards, plants and facilities on a site.

As well as seeing the great progress being made across all areas of our business, the next 3 years will bring significant changes to how the NDA will work. The NDA is learning from the mistakes it made in awarding the contract to run the Magnox sites and has taken steps to improve the way the NDA works.

The NDA has already improved, standardised and simplified many of its processes, increasing its insight and governance over the progress being made on its sites. I have strengthened the team with the addition of a new Commercial Director, new general legal counsel and look forward to a new Nuclear Operations Director joining us early next year. So a busy 3 years ahead as we continue to deliver our mission. We cannot do this alone. Your involvement is crucial.

I was hugely impressed at the NDA’s first stakeholder summit this year by the depth of people’s interest in our work. Maintaining strong relationships is vitally important to the NDA and me personally. I am committed to meeting and listening to as many people as possible from communities around our sites, and those further afield who have a genuine interest in our mission to decommission and clean up the UK’s legacy nuclear sites.

Question 3

The Group Estate

Accepted Answer

We are dealing with one of the most complex, long-term, environmental challenges in Britain.

We are responsible for decommissioning 17 nuclear sites. This includes the first generation of Magnox power stations, various research and fuel facilities and our largest, most complex site, Sellafield. The 17 sites are spread across the UK and we take an estate-wide view of the work.

Our core objective is to decommission these sites safely, securely, cost-effectively and in a manner that protects the environment.

How the estate operates

The NDA is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The Department and Scottish Ministers are responsible for approving our plans and providing a policy framework for the NDA.

The NDA sets the estate-wide strategy, contract manages the operation of the businesses and specialist subsidiaries and provides performance assurance across the estate to ensure value is delivered for the taxpayer.

The businesses are responsible for delivering NDA group progress through their running of day to day activities. The NDA also has a portfolio of specialist subsidiaries, which operate a range of services which we need to do our work.

1,046 hectares of nuclear licensed land

17 sites dating from post-war decades

16,000 employees across the estate

12 businesses within the NDA Group

Question 4

NDA Corporate Centre

Accepted Answer

The Energy Act 2004 transferred the assets and liabilities of all the sites included in this Business Plan to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The NDA has 5 offices located across the UK with its headquarters in Cumbria and we employ just over 224 staff. We are accountable for annual expenditure of circa £3 billion.

The NDA is a strategic authority that leads the delivery of the mission through businesses and specialist subsidiaries.

In that leadership role we focus on the following:

Health, safety, security, environment

Underpinning all we do is a commitment to encourage the highest standards of safety, security and environmental responsibility and an open and transparent approach to secure the support and trust of our stakeholders.

We have adopted the principles of:

simplification
standardisation
discipline
focus

Strategy and Planning

Our strategy is reviewed every 5 years and provides the framework for delivering our mission on behalf of government. It sets out our strategic direction and long-term objectives and determines what the NDA is going to do to deliver its policy obligations.

We’ve developed a Strategy Management System to support the development of strategic options and make decisions on a series of distinct issues. Our plans set out how we will deliver the key outcomes required to achieve our mission in the right timeframe and within the funding agreed with government.

Governance and Assurance

Implement a governance regime that discharges our legal, regulatory and public service responsibilities to protect the interests of government and taxpayers, employees and stakeholders. We undertake appropriate assurance of delivery to ensure the businesses, the NDA and our subsidiaries deliver the outcomes required to achieve our mission.

Risk based planning and assurance, along with the provision of specialist support, gives confidence to the NDA and our stakeholders that we have the right people, processes and plans in place to ensure that hazards are reducing as planned and that strategy will be delivered. We do this by knowing that projects are being delivered in line with plans and that programmes are on track to deliver the right value for money outcomes within agreed funding limits.

Delivery Optimisation

We seek the optimum mix of businesses to deliver our mission. These range from PBO led SLCs through NDA owned subsidiaries to affiliates. These management arrangements provide a framework for setting out our requirements and expectations and are designed to deliver our desired outcomes. NDA’s central view helps us to make optimised and prioritised estate-wide decisions over the short and long-term.

Manage and Report Performance

We have introduced Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) meetings with our businesses. The QPR is at the heart of performance management, driving discipline around targets, direction, culture, clarity and holding the businesses to account. We report performance of the businesses to government and stakeholders.

We are also focused on getting the right technology, skills and resources in place to help in our mission, as well as ensuring that local communities are supporting socially and economically during and after the clean-up work.

Research and development

One of our responsibilities is to ensure the right amount of R&D is carried out to deliver the full decommissioning programme.

Many ‘never-done-before’ projects require significant innovation and novel engineering approaches.

The aim is to solve the challenging technical problems more effectively, more efficiently and where possible, for less cost to taxpayers.

To maximise the benefits of R&D and avoid duplication, the NDA promotes the estate-wide sharing of good practice and, where appropriate, the adoption of innovative ideas across multiple sites.

Skills

Cleaning up the UK’s nuclear legacy is a long-term environmental challenge that requires different skills in different locations at different times.

It’s vital, based on the foresight we have, that we create an environment now that encourages people, no matter at what stage of their career, to develop the right skills for our mission.

Socio-economics

The NDA’s socio-economic mission is to ‘support the maintenance of sustainable communities’ and our objectives are to:

enhance the opportunity for local people to be involved in decommissioning work or other economic activity through education, retraining and skills development
support the diversifi cation of local economies into other sectors –reducing the reliance of communities on nuclear sites for employment
increase the attractiveness of areas near NDA sites and places to live, work and invest in
work with nuclear new build and neighbouring site organisations to work cohesively on socio-economics and maximise potential benefits to the community

Question 5

NDA Corporate Centre Key Activities

Accepted Answer

circa £3 billion planned expenditure for 2018/19

We group our activities under 5 strategic themes. This allows us to bring a clear focus to our mission.

Site Decommissioning and Remediation: to decommission and remediate our sites and release them for other uses.
Spent Fuels: to ensure safe, secure and cost effective lifecycle management of spent fuels.
Nuclear Materials: to ensure safe, secure and cost effective lifecycle management of our nuclear materials.
Integrated Waste Management: to ensure that wastes are managed in a manner that protects people and the environment, now and in the future, and in ways that comply with government policies and provides value for money.
Critical Enablers: to provide the stable and effective implementation framework that enables the delivery of our mission.

Nuclear Materials

Activity	Timescale
Work with government to develop a long-term management solution for separated plutonium in the UK	Over the next 3 years

Integrated Waste Management

Activity	Timescale
The NDA will work with group businesses to explore alternative disposal options for Higher Activity Waste	Over the next 3 years

Critical Enablers

Activity	Timescale
GDF site selection launch and community engagement for RWM	In the next financial year
Undertake health of the supply chain review	In the next financial year
Review of NDA operations and implementation of the recommendations from the Holliday Inquiry, NAO landscape report and Public Accounts Committee	Over the next 3 years
Manage the existing Magnox Limited contract through to termination; and transition to new arrangements	Over the next 3 years
Development of Strategic opportunities that optimise delivery of the mission	Over the next 3 years
Manage special nuclear materials consolidation in agreed locations	Over the next 3 years
Development and implementation of a Group Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy	Over the next 3 years
Work with HMG to implement workforce reforms across NDA group estate	Over the next 3 years
Provide support to government on nuclear new build decommissioning plans	Over the next 3 years
Working to embed the capability to proactively protect, detect, respond and recover against current and evolving cyber threats	Over the next 3 years
Implementation of our strategic people delivery plan to enable resource planning, skills development and flexibility and mobility across the estate	Over the next 3 years
Support Small and Medium Enterprise organisations by increasing overall spend with them in line with the government Growth Agenda	Over the next 3 years
Performance management of Group Businesses	Over the next 3 years

Regulatory matters

Activity	Timescale
Continue working with regulators and government to determine institutional controls appropriate to restoration of nuclear sites	Over the next 3 years

Question 6

A look ahead to 2021

Accepted Answer

The next 3 years will bring a number of landmark achievements across the estate, demonstrating major inroads into our decommissioning mission.

Complete THORP reprocessing in 2018

Sellafield’s Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) takes spent nuclear fuel from EDF Energy’s operational power stations and from foreign customers.

The closure of THORP in 2018 remains on track. It will avoid the expense of replacing many of the plants that support its operation. This means we can focus our resources on the primary task of decommissioning and remediation.

The end of reprocessing operations in THORP provides a clear transition point for Sellafield. The site will move from commercial operations to decommissioning and continued management of spent fuel and waste.

All Magnox reactors defueled and fuel transferred by 2019

Of the 11 sites that have Magnox reactors, only 2 have yet to complete defueling:

Wylfa in Wales will complete in 2018
Calder Hall on Sellafield site is scheduled to complete in 2019

All fuel will be transferred for reprocessing, conditioning and/or storage at Sellafield site. This represents the culmination of a complex, logistical and procedural challenge.

By 2018 the radiological hazard on all Magnox sites across the UK will have been reduced by 99%. These sites will prepare to enter a period of quiescence known as the Care and Maintenance (C&M) phase.

Magnox reprocessing complete by end of 2020

Closure of the Magnox Reprocessing Plant at Sellafield is based on the latest Magnox Operating Programme and subject to the completion of defueling and the performance of ageing facilities that were built many decades ago.

As a result of completing reprocessing, a series of products will be suitable for interim storage pending disposal or reuse. The conclusion of reprocessing also benefi ts the environment and complies with the UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges.

Retrievals from the high hazard facilities:Pile Fuel Cladding Silo and Magnox Swarf Storage Silos by

2020/2021

Retrieval of waste at Sellafield's Pile Fuel Cladding Silo

The Pile Fuel Cladding Silo is one of the oldest facilities at Sellafield.

Retrieval of waste from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo at Sellafield is scheduled to start 2 years earlier than forecast.

A simplified, ground-breaking approach also reduces the cost of this work by almost £250 million pounds.

First NDA site moves into Care and Maintenance phase by 2019

Bradwell in Essex is set to be the UK’s first Magnox site to reach the stage of Care and Maintenance, when its 2 reactors and ILW store will be sealed.

This period of reduced activity will last for several decades. Appropriate management arrangements will be required for a regime of site security, monitoring, maintenance and records management.

Low Level Waste Repository: PCM dealt with by 2019

A series of concrete bunkers that once stored Plutonium Contaminated Materials (PCM) look set to be demolished at least four years earlier than expected - and for £30 million less than expected.

Located at the Low Level Waste Repository near Drigg, Cumbria, the bunkers were known as magazines and stored PCM generated from operations at Sellafield in the 1950s-1960s.

Question 7

20 year  overview

Accepted Answer

Download the NDA estate key programmes: 20 year overview

Question 8

Our funding

Accepted Answer

Funding framework

The NDA is publicly funded through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), our total planned expenditure is voted upon annually by Parliament. Revenue generated through the commercial activities of the NDA reduce the level of public funding required from Government.

Commercial income

We maximise revenue from our existing assets and operations to help fund decommissioning and clean-up, in order to reduce the level of public funding required to meet the scope of our plans and delivery of the NDA mission. The commercial operations of the NDA are primarily spent fuel and nuclear materials management with additional opportunities identified in providing transportation services.

We will pursue all commercial opportunities using our existing assets, operations and people where it does not materially impact on our core mission or increase our liabilities. The nature of our current commercial activities means we have to manage a significant degree of income volatility, largely due to our operations relying on ageing assets and infrastructure.

Prioritisation and allocation of funding

Within affordability constraints, we will seek to maintain progress and maximise value for money through the effective implementation of our strategy. This will mean focussing on delivery of work on the highest hazards and risks, whilst ensuring that safe, secure and environmentally responsible site operations are maintained.

Planned income and expenditure in 2018/2019

This Business Plan sets out our anticipated income and expenditure for 2018/2019 as agreed with HM Treasury and BEIS. Our total planned expenditure for 2018/2019 is £3.146 billion, of which £2.269 billion will be funded by UK Government and £0.877 billion by income from commercial operations. Planned expenditure on site programmes will be £2.967 billion, while non-site expenditure is expected to be £0.179 billion. This non-site expenditure includes skills development, socio-economic, research and development (R&D), insurance and pension costs, fees to businesses, implementing geological disposal and NDA operating costs as detailed below.

Planned income and expenditure summary 2018/19^{[footnote 1]}

Businesses and specialist subsidiaries	Decom & Clean-up Costs £M	Total Operations Running Costs £M	Total Operations Capital Expenditure Costs £M	2018/19 Plan Total £M	2017/18 Plan Total £M
Sellafield Ltd (including gas costs for steam)	1,142	641	217	2,000	2,000
Trading and Gas Costs (Sellafield)	24			24	24
Magnox Ltd	490			490	572
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd	192			192	189
LLWR Ltd	79			79	75
Springfields Fuels Ltd	20			20	34
Capenhurst	55			55	61
Nuclear Transport and Contract Management		109		109	106
Non-Site Expenditure	179			179	177
TOTAL	2,179	749	217	3,146	3,239
Income				877	879
Net				2,269	2,360

Summary of NDA funding (2018/19 onwards)

Summary of NDA funding	2018/19 £M	2019/20 £M	2020/21 £M
Income	877	1,154	to be confirmed in next spending review
Government Funding	2,269	1,988	to be confirmed in next spending review
Expenditure	(3,146)	(3,142)	to be confirmed in next spending review
Balance	0	0	to be confirmed in next spending review

2018/19 breakdown of non-site expenditure

Non-site expenditure	2018/19 Plan £M	2017/18 Plan £M
NDA Operating Costs	41	41
Radioactive Waste Management Limited	30	26
Socio Economic, Skills, R&D, Knowledge Management, Other	31	31
Estate Insurance	16	16
NDA Properties, Policy Support, NDA Asset decommissioning	17	20
Contractor Fees	43	43
Total	179	177

2018/19 breakdown of planned income by category

Income source	2018/19 Plan £M	2017/18 Plan £M
Reprocessing and Fuel Management Services	761	770
Electricity Generation	0	9
NDA - INS Transport	74	63
Intra Site Services	42	37
Total	877	879

Question 9

Our Businesses (sites)

Accepted Answer

Sellafield Limited

£2 billion planned expenditure for 2018/19

265-hectare site in Cumbria

All 265 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence
Modifications of designating direction signed by the Minister in Jan 2012

On the 1 April 2016 Sellafield Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of the NDA.

Current milestones:

completion of THORP reprocessing in 2018
implement and embed the long-term partnership supply chain in Major Projects (Programme and Project Partner) by 2019
begin retrievals from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo and Magnox Swarf Storage Silos by 2020
completion of Magnox reprocessing including defueling of Calder Hall by 2020

Site Decommissioning and Remediation

The areas of principal focus are the redundant Legacy Ponds and Silos facilities, made up of the Pile Fuel Storage Pond, Pile Fuel Cladding Silo, First Generation Magnox Storage Pond and Magnox Swarf Storage Silo. These facilities supported the development of the nuclear programme in the UK from the early 1950s. Latterly, they have supported the generation from the fleet of Magnox power stations. The programmes include the removal of nuclear fuel, sludge and solid material which require the provision of equipment to retrieve the various wastes and then treat and store them in passive condition.

This process needs to take into account the role of Integrated Waste Management in achieving hazard reduction and long-term safety, security and environmental protection requirements.

Activity	Description	Timescale
Pile Fuel Storage Pond	Continue sustained sludge exports. Ready to start dewatering.	Over the next 3 years
Pile Fuel Cladding Silo	Completion of Inactive Safety commissioning of Box Encapsulation Plant and Product Store,(BEPPS)/Direct Import facility (DIF). Commence inactive commissioning of waste retrieval equipment. Move to volume production of 3m3 boxes, Begin retrievals from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo	Over the next 3 years
First Generation Magnox Storage Pond	Commence Bulk sludge removal from D Bay. Continue to export fuel and sludge from the pond.	Over the next 3 years
Magnox Swarf Storage Silo	Implement the revised Magnox Swarf Storage Silo Strategy. Complete active commissioning of SEP 2 (Silo Emptying Plant). Commence SEP1 (Silo Emptying Plant) Phase 1 active commissioning. Silos Maintenance Facility complete. First export of waste through the Encapsulated Product Store (waste treatment route). Progress the project for the bulk manufacture of 3m3 boxes. Begin retrievals from the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo.	Over the next 3 years
Decommissioning	Continue the decommissioning and demolition of Windscale Pile Chimney Number 1. Continue the demolition of SEP Head End Stack. Complete the removal of remaining gloveboxes from Finishing Line 3.	Over the next 3 years

Spent Fuels

All of the spent fuels discharged from the operating Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor power stations and defueling Magnox power stations reactors are sent to Sellafield for management. The management of AGR fuel under contracts with EDF Energy provides a significant income stream to the NDA.

Activity	Timescale
Completion of THORP reprocessing	In the next financial year
Continue to receive and manage AGR spent fuel from EDF Energy	Over the next 3 years
Continue to reprocess Magnox spent fuel in line with MOP9	Over the next 3 years
Completion of Magnox reprocessing.	From 2019 to 2021