Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Business Plan 2025 to 2028
Published 5 June 2025
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Response to the consultation
Introduction
In March 2025 we published our draft Business Plan for the period 2025-2028. Our consultation on the Plan ran for six weeks, from 10 March to 22 April 2025. This was later than in previous years due to the timing of Government’s Spending Review 2024. We received the outcome of this process in early 2025 and began reviewing what it meant for the NDA group whilst also preparing for Spending Review 2025. We are conscious that the timing of our Business Plan consultation may have caused difficulties for some stakeholders wishing to respond, but would highlight that we are constrained by the time required for consultation, review and the necessary approvals process. We will continue to review and improve the consultation process within the current constraints and the latest government guidance. Consultees were able to respond by email or post with the consultation running in accordance with the criteria set out in the Cabinet Office’s Consultation principles guidelines.
Our findings
We received 18 formal responses from a range of individuals, local authorities, regulators, stakeholder groups and the supply chain.
A summary of the general points raised is provided below. We have considered the feedback and made changes to amend the draft document where we have deemed it appropriate. Where stakeholders have requested a level of information that is not appropriate for this document we will follow up with further engagement through our stakeholder engagement team. If respondents feel that their feedback has not been adequately addressed, please email: businessplanning@nda.gov.uk
Activities and requests for more information on targets
A number of respondents asked for more detailed targets to be included in the Plan. The Plan’s purpose is to provide a summary of activities and expected progress for our 17 nuclear sites over the next three years, in line with the funding agreed with HM Treasury and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. All the NDA group operating companies engage in their own operational planning which includes detailed targets, budgets, and key deliverables. These individual plans are subject to appropriate governance within the operating companies and are consolidated at a group level for reporting and measuring performance.
We continue to improve how we tell our story and how our mission flows into delivery on the ground. Pages 23-26 are where we have outlined our first four strategic themes, known as driving themes, which can be broken down into 47 outcomes. Our critical enablers’ pages also describe the importance of these activities to our mission. We commit to publishing an annual Mission Progress Report which demonstrates delivery of our strategic driving themes and outcomes as explained in our Strategy. We also report performance of key activities in this Business Plan in our Annual Report and Accounts which can be found on our website.
Engaging with our stakeholders
During the consultation we received feedback that some stakeholders would like to be engaged earlier in order to take advantage of any opportunities for site-level activities to align with local strategies and supply chain. We welcome this feedback and are committed to further improving the flexibility of our interactions to encourage more diverse discussions through ongoing engagement and consultations. Engaging openly and transparently with all our stakeholders is crucial to building the support, confidence and trust we need to deliver our mission.
Our new draft Strategy is currently in development and will be published for public consultation in Summer 2025. We would encourage stakeholders to review the draft Strategy and provide their feedback. Subject to approval by the UK and Scottish Governments Strategy 5 will be published and adopted by March 2026.
Funding
We received a number of comments around the funding outcome from Spending Review 2024 and the allocation of this across the group. The funding numbers included in the Plan are as per our Spending Review settlement. Our total planned expenditure for 2025/26 is £4.164 billion, of which £3.305 billion will be funded by UK Government and £0.859 billion from commercially generated revenue.
Following the conclusion of Spending Review 2024, our operating companies were asked to review their key activities against the funding allocated. The outcome of this review meant some activities have been removed and many more have been suitably caveated as being subject to change in pace and / or timing following the result of the ongoing Spending Review 2025 process.
This is most apparent in the Nuclear Restoration Services section, reflecting the complexity of planning its programmes of work across so many sites. The operating company pages now reflect a more focused approach whilst still recognising the continuation of important Critical Enabler activities as per Energy Act requirements / NDA Strategy.
Spending Review 2025 is expected to be settled in the summer of 2025 and will set four years of capital funding and three years of resource funding. We are therefore unable to present funding figures for the second and third years of this plan (2026/27 and 2027/28) and as such they are shown as ‘to be confirmed’.
Socio economics
There was continued interest and appreciation for the NDA’s work in this area. In 2024 we published a new Social Impact and Communities Strategy, developed with representatives from our communities, which outlines our approach to socio-economics and includes a consolidated view of various improvements and amendments that have been made over recent years. The NDA group has grant giving powers which are administered in collaboration with each of our operating companies. Grants are available for projects which support the delivery of the strategy in communities near to our sites and we work in partnership with others to increase the impact of our funding. More information on our grant programme can be found on gov.uk.
Accelerated decommissioning of NRS sites
Following a review of the Magnox reactor decommissioning strategy (strategic outcome 42), the NDA endorsed a site-specific approach to Magnox reactor decommissioning which will involve a mix of decommissioning strategies.
The intention is that the site-specific strategies will result in a rolling programme of activity as the NRS sites are decommissioned. We have included the current best estimates for end state dates in this plan which reflect the work done to date on near term and medium term plans. These estimates are subject to change as we develop our plans and take account of contributing factors, including HMG priorities, funding and approvals. The overall strategy and site specific details will be published when appropriate governance and stakeholder engagement is complete.
Transfer of AGR sites
A number of respondents were interested in the UK Government’s decision to entrust the NDA group with a new, nationally important UK decommissioning programme. Once defueling and fuel free verification are complete, the ownership of seven EDF Energy advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) sites will transfer to the NDA over the next decade for future decommissioning. NRS and EDF Energy are working together to create implementable decommissioning plans, at the point of transfer, recognising that these plans will be matured further as they are integrated into the NRS business. Post-transfer the AGR work will be funded by the Nuclear Liabilities Fund. We recognise the importance of engaging with our stakeholders during the process to take ownership of these sites, in particular the site stakeholder groups and local authorities in host communities.
Other minor changes in the Plan
Some respondents asked us to include more detailed information in the Business Plan on a variety of other topics. In many cases this information is available on our website and in these instances we have included relevant signposts throughout the Plan and on the useful links and documents page. These include our value framework, social impact and communities strategy and sustainability report.
Preface
The NDA group is responsible for one of the most important environmental programmes in the world, protecting people and the planet. We are a government-funded body responsible for safely and securely decommissioning the UK’s former nuclear sites and overcoming the challenges of managing and disposing of nuclear waste. With a workforce of 17,500 across 17 sites, our employees make up one of the most knowledgeable and experienced nuclear workforces in the world. How we go about our work is very important to us and we are committed to delivering our mission safely, sustainably and responsibly, with care for communities and the environment, ensuring our actions and decisions continue to deliver a positive and long-lasting legacy for future generations.
Engaging openly and transparently on our work is important to us. This Business Plan is one of several publications which we create and consult on every year. In line with Energy Act 2004 requirements, it sets out the activities that will take place over the next three years to advance our important clean-up and decommissioning work and operate our facilities safely and securely. It shows anticipated funding for each of the businesses for 2025/26. We show how the activities are helping to deliver our mission by aligning them to the 47 Strategic Outcomes identified in our Strategy and Mission Progress Report. We also include key work across our range of critical enablers vital to the delivery of the mission.
Engage with our stakeholders
NDA Strategy
Twelve week public consultation every five years.
Describes how we will deliver our mission, ensuring that the UK’s nuclear legacy sites are decommissioned and cleaned up safely, securely, cost-effectively and in ways that protect people and the environment.
Energy Act (2004) requirement. Covers 100+ years. Published every five years.
NDA Business Plan
Eight week public consultation every year.
Describes key activities across the group over the next three years that align to our strategic outcomes and details the funding available for the next year.
Energy Act (2004) requirement. Covers three years (the first year in more detail). Published every year.
A message from our Chief Executive
This business plan sets out proposed plans to take forward the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) nationally important work during the next three years, from 2025 to 2028.
It also covers an important milestone for the NDA, with April 2025 marking twenty years since our creation to lead the UK’s decommissioning mission as part of the Energy Act 2004.
Over the past two decades our work has remained nationally important and highly complex, with much more to do. We’re progressing a mission that dates back to the 1940s and is expected to span into the next century. A snapshot of the last twenty years highlights significant change, learning and progress.
In 2005, some of our sites were still generating electricity for UK homes, hospitals, schools and businesses. All our nuclear sites have safely completed their generation phase, and the ten Nuclear Restoration Services sites (formerly Magnox power stations) are now fuel-free, removing 99 percent of the radioactive hazard. From the removal and recycling of the iconic Berkeley boilers to the demolition of huge cooling towers at Sellafield and Chapelcross, and more recently, beginning waste retrievals from all four of the highest hazard ponds and silos at Sellafield, much has been achieved. In addition, we’re making progress with land release at the former research sites, Harwell and Winfrith, which drove vital innovation in the early days of our nuclear industry.
We’ve also learned a lot. In recent years, we’ve changed and simplified the NDA group, ensuring closer collaboration and placing us in a stronger position for the next twenty years and beyond.
As we continue to learn and strive to improve, we appreciate the valuable external scrutiny of our regulators and the National Audit Office, including a recent review of progress at Sellafield. The audit recognised both achievements and areas where we need to improve, including how we better evaluate and demonstrate progress. Its recommendations will help us drive improved performance and included a suggestion of seeking longer term funding settlements, which we are committed to working with Government on.
Our agreed funding for the financial year 2025/26 is included in this plan. The government process to agree funds for the following years has not yet concluded. We expect to have more certainty about our funding levels for the subsequent three to four years in the summer, following the conclusion of the Government’s current spending review, which will allocate public spending to 2030.
We have made appropriate assumptions to enable us to produce this Business Plan. Areas of work that may be subject to a change as funding clarity is received are highlighted in this document. We prioritise to help us maintain a strong focus on the core mission while also maximising value for money for the taxpayer. However, this is more challenging and somewhat constrained by the limitations of near-term affordability and the funding envelope provided.
Looking ahead to the next three years, we expect some of the biggest changes in the NDA’s history. We’re being trusted to do more, with Hunterston B on target to be the first advanced gas-cooled reactor to transfer from EDF Energy to the NDA group in 2026 for decommissioning. This will be our first significant new mission since our creation, and our operations will continue to grow as the rest of the AGR fleet transfers. Arrangements are progressing on the transfer of the Ministry of Defence’s Vulcan site, which sits adjacent to Dounreay, to the NDA for decommissioning. The transfer will be subject to UK and Scottish Government approval.
Critical work to reduce the risks and hazards at all our sites will also continue, including tackling the highest hazards at Sellafield and demolishing the turbine hall at Sizewell A. I recently visited the Suffolk site and was hugely impressed by the team’s enthusiasm now that they have planning permission to remove the redundant facilities.
Our focus on safety and security will always be our number one priority, and we’ve invested in additional cyber capability, expertise and resources which we’ve made available across the NDA group, enhancing our collective ability to successfully defend against cyber threats.
As our mission progresses, having the right plans and facilities to manage waste is even more important. Nuclear Waste Services will continue to seek to find a suitable site and willing community to host a geological disposal facility.
Our approach will form part of our next NDA Strategy. We expect to consult on it during 2025, ahead of publication in 2026. Our Strategy will detail our approach to risk and hazard reduction, and the wider value the NDA group contributes as part of the nuclear sector and the communities in which we operate. We have a long history of prioritising safety, and we’re also focused on sustainability. This includes creating great places to work for our 17,500 colleagues, supporting a supply chain of around 5,000 companies and continuing vital community support and partnership. We’ve invested around £60 million in socio-economic projects in the last five years, fulfilling a commitment of the Energy Act.
In delivering our important work, we remain mindful that much of our funding comes from the UK Government and we’re operating in a challenging economic environment. Value for money remains a high priority, and we’re stepping up efforts to work more effectively as one NDA group and increase our commercial revenue. This includes focusing on group-wide opportunities in areas such as decommissioning, waste management and energy use.
We’re also making our knowledge, experience and land available to support the UK Government’s efforts to develop new nuclear and protect energy security. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to support the early years of Great British Nuclear and will continue to make an important contribution moving forward.
I’m proud of the progress that we’re making and the commitment of our world-leading decommissioning workforce, and I recognise the challenges of a mission like ours. Together we remain committed to delivering our work safely, securely and cost effectively, creating great places to work and being trusted to do more.
David Peattie FREng HonFNucl
NDA Group Chief Executive Officer
The NDA and our mission
We’re responsible for keeping the UK’s former nuclear sites and facilities, once at the heart of supporting national defence and generating nuclear power for electricity, safe and secure as we decommission them and overcome the challenges of managing nuclear waste. It’s one of the most important environmental programmes in the world, protecting people and the planet.
Our 17,500 strong, skilled group workforce, supported by a large supply chain, work hard on behalf of the UK, using innovation and technology to overcome the challenges of identifying and removing nuclear waste from ageing facilities, so we can store it safely and permanently dispose of it. The work is complex and challenging.
Dealing with all the waste, dismantling hundreds of buildings and facilities, and building a geological disposal facility (GDF), to dispose of the most radioactive nuclear waste, will take decades. However, by investing today in the challenges left over from the UK’s proud nuclear history, we can remove the burden for future generations and continue to deliver social and environmental benefits through our jobs, knowledge, skills, technology and social investment.
Our team is working with partners in research and industry to drive innovation, using cutting-edge technology to reduce hazards and risks, so that over time the sites can be used again for worthwhile purposes.
Open and transparent engagement is a critical enabler to the successful delivery of our mission and we could not make progress without the support and confidence of our stakeholders. Key partners include government entities, employees, trade unions, commercial partners, customers, local communities, councils, NGOs, and international organisations.
Our history
The UK is a pioneer of nuclear technologies, which have been part of our lives since the 1950s. Our sites and facilities have been at the heart of delivering nuclear benefits for the UK, including national defence programmes and supplying safe, low-carbon power to UK homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, for decades.
Unlike modern day equivalents, our old nuclear plants and facilities weren’t designed to manage the nuclear waste they created, or for decommissioning. There are limited historical records on what, or how much, nuclear waste was left on some of the sites during their working lives.
Generating nuclear power today will not leave future generations with the challenges we’re trying to overcome. Nuclear waste produced today is carefully managed, and following in the footsteps of other countries, a GDF will provide us with a safe way of disposing of the most hazardous radioactive waste, permanently in England and Wales. Scotland has a distinct policy for higher activity radioactive waste which sets out a near site, near surface approach.
Aiming for the highest standards
How we go about our work is very important to us and we must deliver results safely, responsibly, and sustainably. Our commitment to creating environmental and social benefits builds on our long history of providing value for the UK and we want to ensure that our actions and decisions continue to have a lasting, positive impact. For more information on how we assess investment decisions see the NDA value framework.
Report progress
Mission Progress Report
Provides our stakeholders with a clear and concise story of NDA mission progress since 2005, that demonstrates delivery of our strategic themes and outcomes as explained in our Strategy.
Covers 100+ years. Published every year.
NDA Mid-Year Performance Report
Provides a progress update against Business Plan activities and incorporates the NDA group targets.
Published every year.
NDA Annual Report and Accounts
Describes achievements and spending. Reports against Business Plan activities and contains an overall progress update against our mission.
Published every year.
Trusted to do more
Our work is expanding - we have been asked to use our specialist expertise and skills to decommission newer reactors as they reach the end of their power-generating lives. Arrangements have been agreed by the UK Government, Scottish Government and EDF Energy for the NDA group to decommission Britain’s seven advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) stations.
The AGRs will reach the end of their operational lives over the next 10 years and, after defueling, with the fuel being transferred to Sellafield for interim storage, will transfer to Nuclear 15 Restoration Services for decommissioning.
The NDA group
Our group is made up of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and four key component parts: Sellafield, Nuclear Restoration Services, Nuclear Waste Services and Nuclear Transport Solutions.
- The NDA is an executive non-departmental public body, created through the Energy Act 2004, sponsored and funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). UK Government Investments also provides strategic oversight of corporate governance and performance. We have just over 350 permanent staff and are accountable to UK Government and Scottish Government ministers for delivery of our mission through our subsidiary companies.
- Sellafield is responsible for decommissioning the UK’s most complex and challenging nuclear site. The site houses around 85 per cent of all the UK’s nuclear waste, on an area of less than two square miles. The Sellafield workforce is taking waste out of buildings as old as the site itself, looking after fuel so that nuclear power stations can continue to operate, and repackaging the country’s stockpile of nuclear materials. Today great steps are being taken towards creating a clean and sustainable future.
- Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) is responsible for safely decommissioning the first generation nuclear and research sites across the UK. It brings together Dounreay and the sites previously branded as Magnox, as part of our work to simplify the way the NDA group is structured, taking opportunities to get best value from working together as one team. NRS also operates a hydro-electric plant and is preparing to welcome the seven AGRs, currently managed by EDF Energy, for decommissioning, as well as other future missions.
- Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) is the UK’s leading nuclear waste management organisation, focused on managing the UK’s nuclear waste, safely and securely, for generations to come. Its work includes the programme to deliver a GDF, operation of the Low-Level Waste Repository site in Cumbria and oversight of the NDA group’s Integrated Waste Management Programme
- Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) is our leading global provider of safe, secure and reliable nuclear transport solutions. It uses its specialist transport and logistics expertise to support our nuclear decommissioning mission and help customers and partners around the world solve their own complex challenges.
- Other NDA group companies include NDA Archives Ltd, NDA Properties Ltd, Rutherford Indemnity Ltd and Energus.
Our funding
We are publicly funded through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Our total planned expenditure is voted upon annually by Parliament in line with the Spending Review.
Funding framework
UK Government has shown continued support for the NDA mission over recent years with increased grant funding offsetting the decline in commercial revenue. Spending Review 2021 (SR21) set funding for three financial years ending 2024/25. SR24 was settled in the Autumn of 2024, setting the funding for 2025/26 only. SR25 is expected to be settled in the summer of 2025 and will set four years of capital funding and three years of resource funding. As this covers the second and third years of this plan we are unable to present funding figures here in respect of these years, which are accordingly shown as ‘to be confirmed’.
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 needed to meet the scope of our plans and delivery of the NDA mission. Our commercial operations are primarily spent fuel and nuclear materials management with additional opportunities identified in providing transportation services.
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 means focusing on reducing our highest hazards and risks, while ensuring that our high standards of safety, security and environmental protection for site operations are maintained.
Planned income and expenditure in 2025/26
This Business Plan sets out our anticipated income and expenditure for 2025/26. Our total planned expenditure for 2025/26 is £4.164 billion, of which £3.305 billion will be funded by UK Government and £0.859 billion from commercially generated revenue. Planned expenditure on-site programmes will be £3.975 billion, while non-site expenditure is expected to be £0.189 billion. This non-site expenditure includes skills development, socio-economic, research and development, insurance and pension costs and the NDA operating costs as detailed on page 16.
- £4.164bn total planned expenditure 2025/26
- £3.305bn funded by UK Government 2025/26
- £3.975bn planned site expenditure 2025/26
- £0.189bn planned non-site expenditure 2025/26
Planned income and expenditure summary 2025/26
| Businesses/Sites | Decom and Clean-up Costs (A) £m | Total Operations Costs: Running Cost (B) £m | Total Operations Costs: Capex (C) £m | 2025/26 Plan Total (A+B+C) £m | 2024/25 Plan Total £m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sellafield Ltd | 1,331 | 691 | 783 | 2,805 | 2,800 |
| Nuclear Restoration Services – Sites Delivery Business | 540 | 540 | 540 | ||
| Nuclear Restoration Services – Dounreay Delivery Business | 221 | 221 | 225 | ||
| Nuclear Waste Services | 235 | 235 | 247 | ||
| Nuclear Transport Solutions | 112 | 112 | 84 | ||
| Springfields | 36 | 36 | 18 | ||
| Capenhurst | 26 | 26 | 17 | ||
| Non-site expenditure | 189 | 189 | 167 | ||
| Total | 2,578 | 803 | 783 | 4,164 | 4,098 |
| Income | 859 | 1,158 | |||
| Net (grant funded) | 3,305 | 2,940 |
Notes:
-
Numbers may not cast due to rounding
-
Final Annual Site Funding Limits may be adjusted to reflect efficiency, performance and portfolio pressures.
-
The NDA reserves the right to reallocate funding to meet prioritised programme needs.
-
Future reporting will consolidate NRS into a single total, in line with the organisational structure.
| Summary of NDA funding 2025/26 onward | Summary of NDA funding | 2025/26 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £m | 2026/27 £m | 2027/287 £m | ||
| Income | 859 | tbc | tbc | |
| Government funding | 3,305 | tbc | tbc | |
| Expenditure | 4,164 | tbc | tbc | |
| Net | - | tbc | tbc |
2025/26 breakdown of non-site expenditure
| Non-site expenditure | 2025/26 plan £m | 2024/25 plan £m |
|---|---|---|
| NDA operating costs | 32 | 32 |
| Critical enablers | 82 | 74 |
| Estate insurance | 11 | 13 |
| Other estate spend | 64 | 48 |
| Total | 189 | 167 |
2025/26 breakdown of planned income by category
| Income source | 2025/26 plan £m | 2024/25 plan £m |
|---|---|---|
| Reprocessing and fuel management services | 697 | 917 |
| NDA - NTS transport | 61 | 43 |
| NDA-generated revenue | 60 | 154 |
| Intra-site services | 41 | 44 |
| Total | 859 | 1,158 |
Our strategic approach and themes
Our strategic themes
We use five strategic themes to describe all the activities needed to deliver the NDA’s mission.
The first four relate directly to decommissioning work and are known as driving themes: Spent Fuels, Nuclear Materials, Integrated Waste Management and Site Decommissioning and Remediation.
The fifth theme, Critical Enablers, describes the important activities needed to support the delivery of our mission. The diagram below demonstrates how they interact.
Integration of our strategies.
Our most urgent tasks are dealing with the highest-hazard materials, spent fuel, nuclear materials and highly-radioactive wastes. Only once the inventory has been removed and either securely stored or disposed of, can the redundant nuclear facilities be dismantled and demolished.
Our themes and strategic outcomes
Across our four driving themes, we break our mission down into 47 strategic outcomes. These outcomes represent the significant pieces of work that must be achieved to deliver our mission. In March 2021 we published our latest Strategy and updated our outcomes to ensure they continue to align with our strategic approach.
We continue to build a more accurate picture of the work that has been completed across our 47 outcomes and identify what is left to do. The percentage figures in the charts on the following pages show the proportion of work that has so far been completed towards the achievement of each outcome. Overall, good progress continues to be made across our mission as we safely manage our nuclear inventory and reduce the risks associated with it.
Spent Fuels
Our strategy defines our approach to managing the diverse range of spent fuels for which we are responsible, which are divided into Magnox, Oxide and Exotic. Once spent fuel is removed from a reactor, it is stored in a pond or dry store until it can be dispatched to Sellafield. For more information on the types of spent fuels we manage, see NDA Strategy 2021, pages 46-57.
The NDA’s strategy has been to bring the reprocessing programme to an end. The THORP reprocessing plant and the Magnox reprocessing plant have now closed. All remaining spent fuel will be safely stored until a permanent solution for disposal is available. The strategy for all remaining spent fuels is to place them in an interim store pending a future decision on whether to classify them as waste for disposal in a GDF. For planning purposes, we assume that all the remaining spent fuels will be disposed of in a GDF.
Our spent fuel work is separated into 15 strategic outcomes that we must deliver, outlined on page 21.
Nuclear Materials
Our strategy defines our approach to dealing with the inventory of uranics and plutonium currently stored on some of our sites*. These nuclear materials are by-products from different phases of the fuel cycle, either manufacturing or reprocessing.
All nuclear materials must be managed safely and securely, by either converting them into new fuel or immobilising and storing them until a permanent UK disposal facility is available.
All of our plutonium is stored at Sellafield. Although uranium is located at a number of our sites, we are continuing to consolidate it at sites best suited to its management. For more information on the types of nuclear materials we manage, see NDA Strategy 2021, pages 58 to 67.
Our nuclear materials work is separated into 10 strategic outcomes that we must deliver, outlined on page 22.
Integrated Waste Management
Our strategy considers how we manage all forms of waste arising from operating and decommissioning our sites, including waste retrieved from legacy facilities.
Managing the large quantities of radioactive waste from electricity generation, research, the early defence programme and decommissioning is one of our biggest challenges. Some of this radioactive waste is in a raw (untreated) form, some has been treated and is being interim stored and, in the case of low-level waste, some has already been permanently disposed of.
Retrieving, treating and interim storing the radioactive waste from Sellafield’s four highest hazard legacy ponds and silo facilities is our highest priority. For more information on the types of waste we manage, see NDA Strategy 2021, pages 68 to 85.
Our Integrated Waste Management (IWM) work is separated into 14 strategic outcomes that we must deliver, outlined on page 23.
Site Decommissioning and Remediation
Our strategy defines our approach to decommissioning redundant facilities and managing land quality in order that each site can be released for its next planned use. After the buildings on our sites have been decommissioned, decontaminated and dismantled, the land will be cleaned up to allow it to be released for other uses. At that point, ownership would transfer to the new user of the land.
We’re currently assessing alternatives for the final stages of decommissioning that could lead to earlier release of land, continued employment and opportunities to reuse it.
Our site decommissioning and remediation work is separated into eight strategic outcomes that we must deliver, outlined on page 24. For more detail on our SDR strategy see NDA Strategy 2021, pages 26 to 45.
Critical enablers
Our fifth strategic theme, critical enablers, covers the important activities needed to support the overall delivery of our mission.
*This Business Plan is aligned to the current NDA Strategy, 2021. On 24 January 2025 the UK Government announced a policy decision to immobilise the UK’s inventory of civil separated plutonium at Sellafield. Our next Strategy will be consulted on during summer and published in 2026.
Work featuring in 2025-2028
The next few pages present in more detail examples of some of the important work that will either be completed or advanced in the next three years. These near-term activities are mapped against our strategic themes and specifically to the 47 outcomes that make up our mission. All dates reflect the latest information and are subject to change.
The case studies also show how our work is contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which are a blueprint for peace and prosperity, now and into the future. Much of our work can be related to one or more of the SDGs, and we are continuing to work to maximise these outcomes.
Our 47 outcomes cover all our strategic themes except ‘critical enablers’. The dates for each strategic outcome contained within this plan are correct up to 31 March 2024 and are subject to change. The data range is expected to mature over the next 120+ years, along with the reduction of uncertainty of the inventory, progression in the lifecycle and strategy development. The outcome of Spending Review 2025 may require us to revise the estimated end dates and associated costs for the strategic outcomes. For more information see NDA Mission Progress Report 2024.
Spent Fuels 2025 – 2028
Spent fuel case studies
AGR defueling and transfer
The defueling of the AGRs, owned by EDF Energy, relies on close collaboration with the NDA group – and 2024 is shaping up as a record year for spent fuel transfers and processing which has been supported by the end-to-end supply chain working together and a demonstration of a successful NDA group approach.
The NDA contributes to the defueling through its subsidiaries; Nuclear Transport Solutions transports the spent fuel by rail to Sellafield where it is processed and stored. In 2024, a total of 445 flasks of spent fuel were transported and received at Sellafield.
Once successfully defueled, the EDF sites will prepare each of their seven AGR sites for transfer to the NDA for decommissioning by NRS. Hunterston B and Hinkley Point B are on track to remove all spent fuel during 2025 with transfer to the NDA scheduled during 2026. Post-transfer the AGR work will be funded by the Nuclear Liabilities Fund.
Optimising spent fuel management
The NDA is exploring opportunities and benefits in treating a small amount of spent fuel materials via a waste route. This is part of wider work which evaluates lifecycle management options for spent fuels and aims to determine best value approaches and identify strategic synergies. The spent fuel materials considered for waste routes are less than 5% of the full spent fuel inventory.
They take a variety of forms, including material that has been destructively tested through post irradiation examination, been treated in some way (e.g. grouted) or degraded significantly so that normal fuel storage and treatment is no longer appropriate. This approach simplifies the storage and treatment processes for the majority of spent fuels and avoids very dissimilar materials being stored together. The aim is to both increase safe management of spent fuels by choosing more appropriate routes as well as delivering efficiencies and better value for money.
Nuclear materials 2025 – 2028
Nuclear materials case study
Repackaging and reducing plutonium at Sellafield
Efforts are currently focused on repackaging some of the oldest plutonium packages to ensure their safety and suitability for interim storage, in accordance with our strategy. This includes transferring packages from older storage facilities to more modern ones, thereby reducing risks and allowing for the decommissioning of outdated buildings. Additionally, the volume of stored plutonium is expected to slowly decrease as we treat and appropriately dispose of low plutonium content materials, which are residues from past processing activities.
Construction and installation work on the Sellafield Product and Residue Store Retreatment Plant is ongoing. This facility will eventually handle the repackaging and retreatment of plutonium packages.
Integrated waste management 2025 – 2028
Integrated waste management case studies
Progress on capping
In August 2024 NWS began important work on the final capping of legacy disposal trenches and vault 8 at the Low Level Waste Repository, which are now full and ready for permanent closure.
Work began on the Southern Trench Cap Interim Membrane (STIM) which involves placing a new membrane, or protective layer, over the legacy disposal trenches.
Capping is a key part of the disposal lifecycle. Comprising of layers of material, totalling up to 10m thick at its highest peak, the cap will permanently protect people and the environment.
It’s a first of a kind activity for the UK which will be completed in the mid-2030s with major works currently underway.
50,000th ILW package processed
The Sellafield site’s Retrievals East River (RER) received, treated, and sent for storage its 50,000th intermediate level waste package in September 2024.
RER takes intermediate level waste from Sellafield’s legacy plants and also deals with remnants of spent fuel from the UK’s AGRs.
Processing these 50,000 packages has been more than three decades of work.
RER processes waste from a variety of sources using innovative technology to ensure it is safely stored until its final disposal in a GDF, so it’ll be supporting the mission for many more decades to come.
Site Decommissioning and Remediation 2025 - 2028
Site Decommissioning and Remediation case studies
Vision for Green Energy Hub and economic growth
A masterplan for the future of Chapelcross has been unveiled, showcasing the vision to develop NDA’s landholding adjacent to the nuclear site into a GreenEnergy Hub.
The masterplan is a result of strategic collaboration with NRS and our strategic partners South of Scotland Enterprise and Dumfries and Galloway Council. The multimillion pound, net-zero focused development includes plans for hydrogen production and storage, advanced manufacturing, and energy and enterprise campuses.
The strategic outcome and gains for all parties are to drive growth in the local economy, attract high value jobs and develop green energy/net zero projects.
The NDA is now looking to identify a strategic developer who will bring expertise and private finance to help deliver the vision and plan to make an appointment in 2025.
Tackling unique decommissioning challenges at Dounreay
The post-irradiation examination (PIE) building at NRS Dounreay was used to examine fuel elements which had been used in the Dounreay Fast Reactor and the Dounreay Materials Test Reactor. As a result, the facility is highly contaminated and poses some unique decommissioning challenges.
The PIE building contained three large concrete cell blocks. The inner cell walls have been cut into 56 concrete blocks weighing between 4 and 11 tonnes each, which have been packaged and consigned to interim storage.
During 2025 the outer cell walls will be cut into blocks weighing a total of 689 tonnes, packaged and consigned to storage.
The facility team will then be part of a project which is trialling methods of removing the outer layers of contaminated concrete using a remotely operated vehicle fitted with a scabbling head. The testing and active trials on the cell wall remaining pillars aim to reduce the radiological hazard.
Critical Enablers 2025-2028
Our fifth strategic theme, critical enablers, covers the important activities needed to support the overall delivery of our mission.
To find out more about each of our critical enablers please refer to our Strategy which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-decommissioning-authority-strategy-effective-from-march-2021
Critical enablers case studies
Health, safety, environment and wellbeing
Nature recovery plan
Biodiversity in the UK is declining, and the NDA group is in a unique position to support a reverse of this due to the extent and range of habitats on our land, along with the length of our mission.
To address this challenge, we have developed a baseline of natural capital on our land holdings and are increasing our understanding through targeted ecological surveys.
We have developed a Nature Recovery Plan, aiming to address the decline of biodiversity by strategically conserving and restoring natural habitats and species. The plan sets out our vision for integrating nature recovery into our organisation, providing targets to evidence this commitment, and putting forward a plan of action for delivering these targets.
We will progress this plan over the next three years, although delivery will continue throughout our mission.
Research, development and innovation
Investment in advanced autonomous nuclear waste sorting and segregation
In 2021 we awarded £4.7 million of funding to five organisations to develop innovative solutions to autonomously sort and segregate nuclear waste.
The aim of the research was to develop sort and segregation solutions using technology and robotics, to move our people away from harm, while also reducing costs by improving waste diversion routes.
The five organisations developed solutions which were showcased in 2023 as part of off-site demonstration events. The next step is for the NDA group to work with supply chain partners to further develop solutions to be deployed on a NRS nuclear licensed site.
On-site active commissioning and testing is expected to start mid-2027 and last around two years, subject to funding.
Security and resilience
£2 million awarded for cutting-edge remote sensing innovations
In 2024, the NDA awarded £2 million in funding to four organisations to develop cutting-edge remote sensing innovations for defence, security and nuclear decommissioning applications.
The organisations are being asked to develop technologies that can form the basis of an Autonomous Security Alarm and Interdiction Network (ASAIN) to remotely keep the sites secure.
The funded technologies will autonomously monitor, track and detect security breaches. This not only keeps human operators out of harm’s way, but also provides the information they need to inform their response.
The competition is focused primarily on solutions for lower risk sites which can be implemented when they no longer contain any nuclear material and when ‘nuclear security’ measures are no longer proportionate, so costs can be reduced.
The funded suppliers will start testing their innovations in a live environment on NDA sites in 2025.
Cyber security
NDA opens new specialised cyber facility
A new specialised cyber facility has been launched at the NDA’s Herdus House to accelerate collaboration and innovation across nuclear operators and the supply chain, enhancing the collective ability to successfully defend against cyber threats.
The Group Cyberspace Collaboration Centre (GCCC) provides a space for experts in cyber, digital and security to come together and share knowledge and learning on how best to defend against evolving threats.
It’s part of a constellation of related leading capabilities developed by the NDA group, including a Cyber Lab classroom at Energus, the Sellafield Engineering Centre of Excellence, and a Robotics and AI Collaboration Centre (RAICo1).
People
NDA group mobility
In Strategy 4, we committed to championing people’s careers by adopting a group approach to encourage staff movement for career progression and development.
The competitive recruitment market for nuclear and related skills requires a strategic response. Managed mobility is an effective way to attract, retain, develop, and diversify our talent, addressing both current and future skills demands. Retaining and developing existing staff also ensures greater value for money for the taxpayer.
Secondments and talent exchanges are key to building organisational capability and supporting individual development and growth in this area is encouraging. Following the launch of NDA group mobility principles in October 2020, staff moves across the group tripled in 2021/2022. This rise highlights the value of these principles and the support and security they provide to our employees. Since then, we have seen a consistent year-on-year increase in staff mobility.
Asset management
Integrating data, systems and knowledge
Our asset management strategy continues to address the enduring risk that poor asset performance adversely impacts our mission. We are focused on three workstreams that aim to connect an asset, create a single source of data and hold information and data governance so we can present opportunities to improve performance and mission delivery.
Connected infrastructure
We’re working with the group to build the connected infrastructure that enables cyber-secure connectivity between assets and the IT network. Real time asset performance data, will provide efficiencies and improve response time and effort.
Asset Intelligence
A common way of describing and structuring asset data has been agreed and is being rolled out. These standards and controls provide a consistent platform for reporting and analytics and again help to improve efficiency.
Mission Management System
The Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) system and the single asset register are the backbone of any information management system, effectively putting the information in the hands of the user. A group wide EAM has been defined and we are looking to have a number of these implemented across the operating companies in the coming years.
Information governance
The success of the Dounreay Community Heritage Project
Our first Heritage strategy was published in September 2024. Fundamental to its success is the social value and the benefits it derives. The Energy Act 2004 requires the NDA to put in place measures which include giving encouragement and support to activities that benefit the social or economic life of communities living near our sites.
One such activity is the Dounreay Community Heritage Project since renamed as the Dounreay Reminiscence Group. This has been a collaboration between Nucleus, the Nuclear and Caithness Archives, Dounreay, and High Life Highland. It involved gathering ex-Dounreay employees over tea and biscuits at the North Coast Visitors Centre and supplying them with photographs from the Dounreay archive at Nucleus.
The project was designed to capture metadata for Nucleus records and reach out to the community by providing retired Dounreay staff with the opportunity for a social get together. The initial session focused on Atomic Housing. These ‘atomic houses’ were built to attract and accommodate skilled workers to work at Dounreay in the 1950s.
Following the success of the pilot sessions, further sessions were organised throughout 2023 and 2024 at Nucleus and Castletown Heritage Centre, and the project is to be repeated at Sellafield and Warrington.
International relations
NTS and IAEA sign agreement on nuclear transport security
Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) has partnered with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enhance nuclear and radioactive material transport security. This three-year collaboration aims to strengthen research, develop training materials, and deliver global capacity-building workshops. The agreement highlights NTS’s leadership in nuclear safety and security, focusing on technical support, nuclear security culture, computer security, and physical protection. This partnership underscores NTS’s commitment to improving global nuclear security frameworks and contributing to a safer environment for all IAEA Member States.
Sustainability
Developing a group-wide approach to heat exchanger decommissioning
A project has been established by the Group Integrated Decommissioning Programme to consider the potential benefits from taking a group-wide approach to the decommissioning of heat exchangers.
It takes account of learning from a high profile project to remove boilers from Berkeley site in 2012, as well as two in-flight projects across our estate. Around 100 heat exchangers will need to be decommissioned from eight current sites and from the advanced gas-cooled reactor fleet, which alone has 32 heat exchangers to be managed.
Finding a collective solution for the estimated 60,000 tonnes of metal has the potential to deliver better value for money, accelerate timescales and enable working at scale with the supply chain.
Transport and logistics
NTS trials revolutionary wingsail technology
NTS has become the first commercial operator to trial this revolutionary new sail technology. Smart Green Shipping’s (SGS’s) FastRig wingsail technology was installed on NTS’s vessel, the Pacific Grebe - a purpose-built ship designed to transport nuclear cargos across the world. This technology aims to use wind power to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 30%. NTS and SGS’s collaboration is the first of its kind in the maritime sector, potentially reducing emissions and fuel use across the entire shipping industry. This project marks NTS’s commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainable operations in adopting cleaner, greener shipping technologies.
Public and stakeholder engagement
Engagement with devolved administrations
We continue to work hard to strengthen our engagement with the devolved regions, sharing our progress and listening to their perspectives.
Over coming years we expect to see growth in some of our sites in Scotland and Wales - for example – an increasing proportion of the NRS business will be centred in Scotland in the next decade. So we try to ensure officials, Ministers and MPs within devolved governments and parliaments understand our mission and our socioeconomic impact on communities and the supply chain.
As policy on the management of radioactive waste and environmental protection are devolved matters, we need to understand the challenges and opportunities this brings to our UK-wide business. With a Cross Party Group established in the Scottish Parliament, and the Welsh Parliament, we have further opportunities to engage.
We are developing an effective approach to ‘partnership’ working with secondments within the devolved governments to share our knowledge and expertise.
We also work with those organisations which represent local authorities - we part funded a co-ordinator for SCCORS (Scottish Council Committee on Radioactive Substances) and worked with Nuleaf (Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum) to help establish this post.
Socio-economics
Maximising support for our communities
In 2024 we published a new Social Impact and Communities Strategy, developed with representatives from our communities. This is aligned with our wider NDA Strategy and Sustainability Strategy, taking account of the UN sustainable development goals and UK socio economic priorities, including those set out by the Social Value Act, Just Transition Commission (Scotland) and in the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
At the heart of our strategy is working with local and regional stakeholders to fund socio-economic projects in the areas where we operate to help deliver a positive and sustainable future. Notable projects supported in the past year include the Caithness Business Fund Future Skills Apprenticeship programme, establishment of the Growing Well mental health charity in West Cumbria, and the reopening of a valued community facility including café on the shores of Trawsfynydd Lake. The Energy Act 2004 provides us with a legal duty to have regard for the impact of our activities on communities living near our sites, as well as the wider responsibilities all public bodies have under the Social Value Act 2012.
NDA group key activities
The NDA group’s key activities for the next three years are set out on the following pages.
These near-term activities are mapped against our strategic themes and specifically to our 47 strategic outcomes that make up our mission. All activities and dates represent the latest emerging information and are subject to change.
Where we expect an activity to complete during the three-year Business Plan period, this is clearly stated.
All other activities represent longer-term programmes of work or are enduring in nature and are therefore expected to continue beyond the three years and will feature in future business plans.
Sellafield
Sellafield Limited is an NDA subsidiary, responsible for delivering the NDA mission, through operating and decommissioning Europe’s largest and most complex nuclear site. This includes cleaning up nuclear facilities and safeguarding nuclear fuel, materials, and waste - creating a clean and safe environment for future generations.
The portfolio of work is balanced around the following priorities:
- Safely guarding and keeping secure Nuclear Materials
- Reducing risk and hazard in high hazard areas
- Keeping the nation’s lights on through management of AGR fuel and facilitating the effective defueling of reactors
- Ensuring the infrastructure is resilient
- Keeping enabling activities off the critical path
- Progressing risk and hazard reduction in other site areas
- Supporting the NDA group material consolidation
Highlights 2025-2028
- Continue to receive and dismantle AGR fuel from EDF Energy
- Progress analytical services capability Continued roll out of asset management plans and continuous improvements
- Sustained retrievals from the legacy ponds and silos
- Continue to support the NDA
- Alpha Resilience Capability (ARC) Programme
- Continued focus on supporting a low carbon future
Planned expenditure for 2025/26
£2,805 million
Site in Cumbria
Hectares designated – 276 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 276 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
All buildings decommissioned - TBD
All land remediated - 2125
All land dedesignated - 2125
‘TBD’ is shown when the date for completing the strategic outcome is not sufficiently clear for a specific date to be given at this time
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spent Fuels | |||
| Spent Magnox Fuel | |||
| Continue to interim store in the Fuel Handling Plant (FHP) remnant Magnox fuel and fuels recovered from the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP) | 2025-2028 | 2 | |
| Continue to retrieve fuels from FGMSP | 2025-2028 | 2 | |
| Spent Oxide Fuel | |||
| Enhance the capacity to receive/manage and interim store AGR spent fuel from EDF Energy to support bulk defueling | 2025-2028 | 6, 9 | |
| Spent Exotic Fuel | |||
| Prepare for the receipt and management of future Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) fuel | 2025-2028 | 12, 14 | |
| Nuclear Material | |||
| Plutonium | |||
| Continue the safe and secure storage of plutonium by developing the capability to repack plutonium in line with UK policy | 2025-2028 | 18, 19 | |
| Continue to support NDA Disposition Programme stand-up, including delivery of the early ‘residues to waste’ opportunity | 2025-2028 | 20 | |
| Continue to support the NDA Alpha Resilience Capability (ARC) Programme | 2025-2028 | 18, 20 | |
| Uranium | |||
| Support future decommissioning and commercial plans by implementing plans for consolidated storage and potential transfer / export of Sellafield Uranics | 2025-2028 | 22, 24 | |
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Low Level Waste | |||
| Continue to generate savings and preserve capacity at the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) by enhancing capability to divert waste from LLWR and into the supply chain | 2025-2028 | 27 | |
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Support risk reduction from Legacy Ponds through continued removal of fuel and waste from the facilities | 2025-2028 | 31 |
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS): Continue retrievals from MSSS; Progress the capability required for bulk retrievals; Delivery of tasks within the MSSS containment response plan to address the original building leak | 2025-2028 | 31 | |
| Continue retrievals from Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (PFCS) | 2025-2028 | 31 | |
| Support the NDA’s strategy by continuing the programmes to receive and treat waste materials from Harwell and AWE Aldermaston | 2025-2028 | 32 | |
| Support future waste treatment through implementing the capability to actively demonstrate characterisation, size reduction and decommissioning | 2025-2028 | 32 | |
| Support risk reduction by developing additional capability for treatment of intermediate level liquid wastes (Site Ion Exchange Effluent Plant (SIXEP) Continuity Plant (SCP)) | 2025-2028 | 32 | |
| Continue to support industry and health care in the management of used radioactive sources | 2025-2028 | 32 | |
| Ensure continued storage capacity in the SIXEP facility, including the identification of alternatives to additional storage such as treatment | 2025-2028 | 33 | |
| Complete studies on retrieval and treatment of SIXEP stored ILW at enterprise and programme level | 2025-2028 | 33 | |
| High Level Waste | |||
| Continue the programme to repatriate overseas-owned vitrified waste to its country of origin | 2025-2028 | 38 | |
| Support risk reduction through the continued vitrification of highly active liquor | 2025-2028 | 36 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue Post Operational Clean Out (POCO) activities on key facilities | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue to progress the Low Active Effluent Treatment Plant Retrieval Project to enable bulk flocculant removal | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continued delivery of priority Alpha Decommissioning scope | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue progress of legacy hazard removal and demolition | 2025-2028 | 43 | |
| Sites | |||
| Continue to progress Calder land clearance to support SIXEP Continuity Plant (SCP) and the SIXEP Waste Management Plant (SWM) | 2025-2028 | 47 |
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progress new site wide end state assumptions | 2025-2028 | 45 | |
| Critical Enablers | |||
| Implementation of a Strategic Workforce Plan capability to ensure resources are deployed in the right place, at the right time. This will incorporate a focus on early career learners to underpin mission delivery | 2025-2027 | CE6 | |
| Deployment of a revised People IT system across Sellafield Ltd to underpin People Services Transformation | 2025-2028 | CE6 | |
| Continue to embed the Sellafield security enhancement programme | 2025-2028 | CE3 | |
| Manage and deliver asset management and continuous improvement capability and performance to support mission delivery | 2025-2028 | CE7 | |
| Lead and manage the development of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the NDA group to improve safer operations and increase performance and effectiveness | 2025-2028 | CE5 | |
| Develop and embed the long-term partnerships with the supply chain with a focus on Infrastructure Delivery Partnership, Decommissioning Nuclear Waste Partnership, Design Support Partner and the Projects and Asset Care Execution contracts | 2025-2028 | CE8 | |
| Actively engage the external Supply Chain to ensure Sellafield Ltd has the capability and capacity to deliver the enterprise mission; to at least maintain the level of small and medium sized businesses spend to benefit national growth and support local economies, and to ensure open market tenders deliver positive outcomes through competitive bids, where appropriate | 2025-2028 | CE8 | |
| Continue to progress and embed sustainability, supporting the NDA’s sustainability vision, to be recognised as a leader in transforming nuclear legacies into opportunities for local, regional, and national sustainable development, ensuring that our mission outcomes and the journey to deliver them are sustainable | 2025-2028 | CE2 | |
| Develop and maintain a Carbon Management Plan which considers aspects of energy consumption and explores techniques and technologies to reduce the carbon burden in delivering the mission | 2025-2028 | CE1, CE2 | |
| Ensure discharges are in line with UK discharge strategy | 2025-2028 | - |
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continue to support future business requirements including the development and embedding of a value-led culture | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Progress the transformation of project delivery on site and continue to embed the benefits of the Programme and Project Partnership (PPP) | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Continue the programme to ensure the analytical services capability is available to support the mission | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Implementation of an overarching Infrastructure Strategy which supports and enables delivery of the future mission | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Continue to progress the land programme to ensure Sellafield Ltd has the land and property available (and this is optimised appropriately) to deliver the mission | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Continue to enable improvements in delivery of the Sellafield business mission through the exploitation of digital approaches | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Continue with improvements to the site utilities infrastructure | 2025-2028 | - |
Nuclear Restoration Services
Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) was launched in October 2023 as the new brand for Magnox Ltd.
This operating company is structured into two delivery businesses - the Sites delivery business, which includes the 12 sites previously known as Magnox, and the Dounreay delivery business.
NRS is responsible for the safe delivery of value for money decommissioning and restoration of nuclear sites ensuring all our futures are safe, secure and sustainable.
Planned expenditure for 2025/26
NRS Dounreay - £221 million
NRS Sites - £540 million
Total NRS - £761 million
NRS Dounreay Delivery Business
Dounreay is Scotland’s largest decommissioning project, located in the north of Scotland.
For more than 50 years it was known as the centre of the UK’s fast reactor research and development and now the team is aiming to be recognised as a centre of excellence for nuclear decommissioning.
NRS Dounreay delivery business is responsible for decommissioning the Dounreay site. It also operates a Low Level Waste (LLW) disposal facility to deal with waste from the site. The Lifetime Plan for decommissioning the site is currently under review.
Our interim end point (IEP) relates to achieving the following phases of work:
- All buildings no longer required to be demolished
- All waste generated to be in its final packaged state and in its designated storage facility, permitted disposal location or responsibility transferred
- Site land and services remediated to an optimised state
The interim end point (IEP) is to ensure the site’s condition is suitable for its future land use; higher activity waste can be retrieved for disposal and the site has implemented the required ongoing security arrangements.
Planned expenditure for 2025/26
£221 million
Site in Northern Scotland
Hectares designated – 60 hectares (plus 12 hectares designated for LLW facility) in Caithness
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (60 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence, the 12 for the LLW facility are designated but not licensed.)
Free from spent fuel - TBD
Free from nuclear materials - TBD
All radioactive waste disposed - TBD
All buildings decommissioned or relicensed - TBD
All land demonstrated as suitable for reuse - TBD
All land dedesignated or reused - TBD
The Dounreay Lifetime plan is currently under review and so TBD is shown until dates are known upon approval of the new plan.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spent fuels | ||||
| Spent Exotic Fuel | ||||
| DFR - complete removal of in reactor DFR breeder fuel and transfer to interim storage** | 2025-2028 | 11 | ||
| DFR - progress transport of dry breeder shipments to Sellafield** | 2025-2028 | 12 | ||
| Nuclear Material | ||||
| Uranium | ||||
| FCA - remaining uranium inventory consolidated off site** | 2025-2028 | 22 | ||
| Integrated Waste Management | ||||
| Low Level Waste | ||||
| Services - continue transfer of LLW to LLW storage facility | 2025-2028 | 27 | ||
| Strategy - waste diversion implemented into business as usual across site | 2025-2027 | 27 | ||
| Intermediate Level Waste | ||||
| Remote Handleable and Contact Handleable Intermediate Level Waste Treatment Facility Outline Business Case initiated** | 2027-2028 | 40 | ||
| Services - PFR raffinate immobilisation progressed | 2027-2028 | 32 | ||
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | ||||
| Decommissioning and demolition | ||||
| PFR - reactor vessel residual sodium treatment facility actively commissioned and handed over to operations** | 2027-2028 | 42 | ||
| PFR – completion of ventilation system replacement | 2026-2027 | 42 | ||
| FCA – D1203 Uranium Reprocessing Facility ventilation replacement and decommissioning complete | 2025-2028 | 42 | ||
| FCA – D1217 Post Irradiation Examination Facility decommissioned and demolished | 2025-2028 | 42 | ||
| Shaft and silo advanced transition works complete | 2025-2027 | 42 | ||
| Dedesignate or reuse | ||||
| NDA and regulatory permissioning in support of the Interim End State definition and arrangements for Dounreay | 2025-2027 | 44 | ||
| Low Level Waste Pits Environmental Safety Case complete** | 2026-2027 | 44 | ||
| Critical Enablers | ||||
| Support small and medium enterprise (SME) organisations by increasing overall spend with them in line with the Government growth agenda | 2025-2028 | CE8 | ||
| Continue enhancement of cyber security capability and IT infrastructure | 2025-2028 | CE4 | ||
| Optimise asset management capability and performance to support mission delivery | 2025-2028 | CE7 | ||
| Continue the Dounreay Delivery Business and Sites Delivery Business integration | 2025-2027 | - | ||
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
NRS Sites Delivery Business
NRS Sites delivery business is responsible for decommissioning, restoring, and remediating the ex-Magnox sites and the former research sites at Harwell and Winfrith. This business unit also has one hydro-electric power station, Maentwrog.
The original strategy for the sites was to remediate the hazard to implement a low-cost care and maintenance period from the 2030s. Following the quiescence period, the final structures would be removed. We now have greater experience, better understanding, and up-to-date knowledge.
A change in decommissioning strategy to Site Specific Strategies (SSS) is being developed which considers all contributing factors for that site as well as the strategic and funding pressures on the NRS portfolio. This will support the Rolling Programme of Decommissioning (RPD) strategy, which approaches decommissioning in a phased way and aims to reduce the overall cost, duration, and consistency of the mission, enabling further beneficial re-use of some of our land for other purposes.
We endeavour to support economic growth and job creation by continuing to drive progress against a short-term plan with clear milestones. Each site will also have long-term options identified and decision points on both the decommissioning strategy and the end state. This will allow us to consider opportunities for more innovative approaches, based on the technology and external factors of the time, and provide a basis for ongoing engagement and consultation on our strategies for site decommissioning. To recognise the uncertainties in the long term, we have chosen to set out approximate dates that our best estimates of the earliest available options encompass rather than setting out specific dates for our milestones. The current best estimates for end state dates have been included in the 2025-2028 NDA Business Plan and reflect the work done to date on near-term and medium-term plans. These estimates are subject to change as we develop our plans and take account of contributing factors including HMG priorities, funding and approvals.
Further changes, for example, are likely to arise as we develop our RPD plans and seek to integrate and optimise the Sites’ delivery business plans with those of the AGRs and any other future missions which NRS may be asked to support in due course. We know that as we evolve our RPD plans, these will increasingly need to consider incorporating the AGR sites as and when they are handed-over post defueling.
Planned expenditure for 2025/26
£540 million
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear materials | |||
| Uranics | |||
| Continue the programme for the transfer of nuclear materials including regulatory permissioning | 2025-2028 | 22 | |
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Low Level Waste | |||
| Delivery of the Magnox elements of the estate-wide LLW Management Plan including diversion to alternative treatment including development of updated Integrated Waste Strategy | 2025-2028 | 26 to 29 | |
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW** | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Progress design and build of ILW retrieval plant** | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Continue to pursue opportunities to consolidate NRS ILW to interim stores** | 2025-2028 | 33 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue estate decommissioning and demolition activities in line with individual site plans** | 2025-2028 | 42, 43 | |
| Continue reactor decommissioning** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue to manage and remove asbestos** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue development of site-specific strategies as part of a rolling programme of decommissioning** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Dedesignate or reuse | |||
| Continue working with regulators to ensure appropriately proportionate management arrangements and permissioning for Interim States and Interim End States are determined and agreed | 2025-2028 | 44, 45 |
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development of Interim State approaches, utilising revised management arrangements | 2025-2028 | 44 | |
| Monitoring of management and maintenance arrangements for sites in care and maintenance | 2025-2028 | 44 | |
| Progress land quality activities to support suitability for reuse | 2025-2028 | 44, 46 | |
| Progress land dedesignation and release to support reuse | 2025-2028 | 47 | |
| Provision of support to nuclear new build** | 2025-2028 | 47 | |
| Critical Enablers | |||
| Support small and medium enterprise organisations by increasing overall spend with them in line with the Government growth agenda | 2025-2028 | CE10 | |
| Continue enhancement of cyber security capability and IT infrastructure | 2025-2028 | CE4 | |
| Optimise asset management capability and performance to support mission delivery | 2025-2028 | CE7 | |
| Progress development of workforce capability and skills for decommissioning in NRS and the supply chain | 2025-2028 | CE6 | |
| Develop and deliver to the sustainability agenda | 2025-2028 | CE2 | |
| Identify and realise opportunities in research, development and innovation | 2025-2028 | CE5 | |
| Support the Government in activities to deliver preparations for decommissioning the advanced gas-cooled reactor fleet as they reach a fuel free state | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Continue the Dounreay delivery business and Sites delivery business integration | 2025-2027 | - |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Berkeley
Site in Gloucestershire
Hectares designated – 27 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 11 hectares (16 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2060s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW wastes | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue to progress the asbestos and plant removal from the blower houses** | 2025-2028 | 42, 43 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Bradwell (in care and maintenance)
Site in Essex
Hectares designated – 20 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 20 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2080s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Dedesignate and Reuse | |||
| Ongoing management of site during care and maintenance period 2025-2028 44 | 2025-2028 | 44 |
Chapelcross
Site in Dumfries and Galloway
Hectares designated – 96 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 96 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2060s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW** | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Continue to progress design and build of ILW retrieval plant** | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Continue to progress activities –Sludge & Sand Fill house and Wet Waste Transfer ILW retrieval plant** | 2025-2026 | 27, 30, 32, 33 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Progress preparations for pond draining and stabilisation including waste retrievals** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Prepare and execute land remediation of the cooling tower basins | 2025-2028 | 43 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Dungeness A
Site in Kent
Hectares designated – 20 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 20 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2060s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW wastes | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Continue to progress design and build of ILW retrieval plant | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Continue to progress activities supporting consolidated ILW storage | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Commence and progress decommissioning the Active Effluent Treatment facilities** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Prepare and progress the demolition of the boilers and associated buildings | 2025-2028 | 43 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Harwell
Site in Oxfordshire
Hectares designated – 107 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 23 hectares (84 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - 2026
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2050s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Materials | |||
| Uranics | |||
| Continue the programme for the transfer of nuclear materials | 2025-2027 | 22 | |
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue preparations for decommissioning of the Radiochemistry Facility (B220)** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue decommissioning, demolition, land remediation and reinstatement** | 2025-2028 | 42, 43, 46 | |
| Delicensing of the Liquid Effluent Treatment Plant (LETP) | 2025-2026 | 44 | |
| Continue preparations for the decommissioning of the British Experimental Pile Zero reactor (BEP0)** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue preparations and planning for the decommissioning of the Active Waste Handling facility (B459)** | 2026-2028 | 42 | |
| Dedesignate or reuse | |||
| Continue incremental release of land to the Harwell campus through targeted demolitions, remediation and clearance of land tracts** | 2025-2028 | 42 43, 47 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Hinkley Point A
Site in Somerset
Hectares designated – 19 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 19 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2060s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Continue to progress design and build of ILW retrieval plant | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue to progress the deplanting of the reactor building | 2025-2028 | 42 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Hunterston A
Site in Ayrshire
Hectares designated – 15 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 15 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete c.2050s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW** | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Continue to progress design and build of ILW retrieval plant** | 2025-2027 | 30 | |
| Commissioning of the solid ILW encapsulation plant** | 2025-2028 | 32 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue the decommissioning of the Active Effluent Treatment facilities** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue to progress the deplanting of the reactor building** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue to progress the deplanting of the cooling pond overbuilding | 2025-2028 | 42 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Oldbury
Site in Gloucestershire
Hectares designated – 47 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 32 hectares (All 15 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2080s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities supporting consolidated ILW storage** | 2025-2028 | 33 | |
| Commence the design and build of ILW retrieval plant** | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW (at Berkeley) | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue to progress the decommissioning of the Active Effluent Treatment facilities | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Commence and progress the asbestos removal, deplant and demolition of the turbine hall | 2025-2028 | 42 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Sizewell A
Site in Suffolk
Hectares designated – 14 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 1 hectare (13 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2070s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to support consolidation of ILW storage** | 2025-2028 | 33 | |
| Commence design and build of ILW retrieval plant** | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Commence and progress the decommissioning of the Active Effluent Treatment facilities** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Commence and progress the asbestos removal from the boiler houses | 2025-2028 | 42 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Trawsfynydd
Site in North Wales
Hectares designated – 15 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 15 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2050s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue and complete activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW | 2025-2026 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Commence, prepare and progress reactor building height reduction** | 2025-2028 | 43 | |
| Continue deplanting, decommissioning and demolition of the ponds complex facility** | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Commence and progress preparations for reactor dismantling** | 2025-2028 | 42, 43 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Winfrith
Site in Dorest
Hectares designated – 81 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 10 hectares (71 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2036*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Continue DRAGON reactor decommissioning, including the completion of the construction and installation of the core segmentation equipment | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue SGHWR decommissioning, including the completion of the construction and installation of the core segmentation equipment | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Commence and progress the removal of the discharge pipelines | 2025-2028 | 42 | |
| Continue land remediation activities and end state development | 2025-2028 | 46 |
Wylfa
Site in Anglesey
Hectares designated – 21 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 21 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
Free from Spent Fuel - ACHIEVED
Free from Nuclear Materials - ACHIEVED
All Radioactive Waste Disposed - TBD
All land in End State - all planned physical work complete - c.2080s*
*This is our best estimate of the earliest date to achieve milestones but is based on a number of dependences, assumptions, risks and exclusions and is subject to site specific strategy development and approval.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Continue to progress activities to retrieve, treat and store ILW** | 2025-2028 | 30, 32, 33 | |
| Continue to progress design and build of ILW retrieval plant** | 2025-2028 | 30 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and demolition | |||
| Commence and progress the isolation, asbestos removal, deplant and demolition of the turbine hall** | 2025-2028 | 42 |
**The timing and pace of this activity may be impacted by the outcome of Spending Review 2025 and as such it is subject to change
Nuclear Waste Services
Nuclear Waste Services’ (NWS) vision and mission is vitally important to the UK today and for future generations. It’s here to make nuclear waste permanently safe, sooner, and its mission is to become the ‘one- stop shop’ for the management of nuclear waste in the UK.
The creation of NWS in January 2022 brought together the expertise of LLW Repository Ltd (LLWR), Radioactive Waste Management (RWM), and the NDA group’s Integrated Waste Management Programme (IWMP). With a view of the full waste management cycle, its skilled workforce is developing new treatment technologies and services to overcome the challenges of managing and disposing of nuclear waste safely and securely.
Our strategic objectives are:
- Right waste form, in the right package, in the right facility
We are enabling waste prevention, recycling, and the minimising of overall volumes, ensuring that the waste hierarchy is applied throughout the radioactive waste management lifecycle
- Accelerate decommissioning by innovation
We will work with waste producers to overcome a range of waste challenges and to capitalise on opportunities
- Value for the UK
We will deliver cost effective waste treatment and disposal facilities for the UK’s radioactive waste
Important milestones:
- Submission of the LLWR site Environmental Safety Case to the Environment Agency by 2026/27*
- Decision to Government on communities to progress to deep borehole investigation and increased community investment by 2027/28
- Complete installation of the Interim Trench Cap at the LLWR site by 2027/28*
(*) Indicates activities related to specific work at NWS Low Level Waste Repository site
Planned expenditure for 2025/26
£235 million
Site in Cumbria, Low Level Waste Repository
Hectares designated – 100 hectares
Hectares dedesignated – 0 hectares (All 100 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.)
Site progress (achieved and expected)
All buildings decommissioned – TBD
All land remediated – TBD
All land dedesignated or reused – 2135*
‘TBD’ is shown when the date for completing the strategic outcome is not sufficiently clear for a specific date to be given at this time
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Intermediate Level Waste | |||
| Work with consigning site licence companies (SLCs) to improve waste forecast and inventory and continue segregated waste, treatment, and disposal services | 2025-2028 | 26 to 39 | |
| Manage and operate LLWR site safely to provide an effective UK disposal service* | 2025-2028 | 26 to 30, 34 | |
| Implement Government policy on geological disposal of the most hazardous radioactive waste presenting our decision to Government for approval to proceed towards deep borehole investigation | 2025-2028 | 5, 10, 15, 20, 25,34, 39 | |
| Matured preparation of Development Consent Order and environmental permit applications for deep boreholes, to support GDF Programme schedule | 2025-2028 | 5, 10, 15, 20, 25,34, 39 | |
| Deliver LLWR site Environmental Safety Case* | 2025-2027 | 34, 39, 41 | |
| Continue to explore the feasibility of the LLW repository site for the disposal of suitable ILW in line with the updated Government policy | 2025-2028 | 34 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Support hazard reduction across the NDA group | 2025-2028 | 44 to 47 | |
| Complete installation of the Interim Trench Cap at the LLWR site* | 2025-2028 | 42 to 47 | |
| Critical Enablers | |||
| Continue enhancement of cyber security and IT infrastructure | 2025-2028 | CE4 | |
| Mature and deliver asset management and continuous improvement capability and performance to support mission delivery | 2025-2028 | CE7 | |
| Continue to implement activities as detailed within our Sustainability Strategy | 2025-2028 | CE2 | |
| Continue to pursue overall cost savings in delivery of the Lifetime Plan | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Progress major civils procurement for the capping of Vault 8 and the Northern Trenches | 2025-2028 | - |
(*) indicates activities related to specific work at NWS Low Level Waste Repository site
Nuclear Transport Solutions
Established in 2021, Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) is a centre of excellence and a strategic UK capability for the transport of radioactive and other critical materials.
Delivering our mission relies on being able to transport radioactive materials and other freight safely and sustainably. NTS supports this by transporting spent nuclear fuel from UK power stations to Sellafield, returning reprocessed products to customers overseas, and providing packaging and licensing solutions to the NDA group.
It also generates revenue through commercial transport and logistics opportunities in the UK and overseas – offsetting the cost of delivering decommissioning and clean-up work at the UK’s oldest nuclear sites.
NTS operates Direct Rail Services (DRS) and Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd (PNTL) to deliver rail and shipping services for customers, building on decades of experience of providing safe, secure and reliable transport solutions.
Planned expenditure for 2025/26
£112 million
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spent fuels | |||
| Spent Oxide Fuel | |||
| Support AGR fuel movements by rail for EDF Energy from stations to Sellafield, including preparations for the AGR defueling programme | 2025-2028 | 6 | |
| Nuclear Materials | |||
| Plutonium and Uranics | |||
| Support national nuclear material rail movements for Harwell and Dounreay | 2025-2028 | 22 | |
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| High Level Waste | |||
| Continue to deliver important international transports of vitrified HLW and conditioned ILW | 2025-2028 | 34, 38 | |
| Critical Enablers | |||
| Become the ‘partner of choice to realise benefits from better coordination and optimisation of NDA group transports | 2025-2028 | CE12 | |
| Seek opportunities for new business within nuclear shipping, rail, packaging and design by providing transport enabling solutions to UK and international markets | 2025-2028 | CE12 | |
| Maintain and operate a fleet of specialist transport assets which meet the highest standards of quality, safety and security in order to support NDA operations | 2025-2028 | CE12 | |
| Attract and retain the necessary skills, capability and diversity of talent to deliver business in a safe, secure and reliable manner | 2025-2028 | CE6 | |
| Develop and implement a carbon reduction plan to successfully achieve carbon net zero aspirations | 2025-2028 | CE2 | |
| Undertake appropriate non-nuclear business to maintain and enhance the skills and capabilities required to support the core nuclear mission | 2025-2028 | CE6 | |
| Support the discharge of NDA obligations with respect to MOD nuclear rail transportation | 2025-2028 | CE12 | |
| Continue to deliver NDA’s contractual obligations for transport of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel from France to Japan | 2025-2028 | CE12 |
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Planned expenditure for 2025/26
£32 million
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spent fuels | |||
| Spent Oxide Fuel | |||
| Continue to work with EDF Energy and our subsidiaries on the integrated and collaborative delivery programme for the safe and cost-effective defueling of AGR power stations, the AGR Operating Programme | 2025-2028 | 6, 9 | |
| Nuclear Materials | |||
| Plutonium | |||
| Develop our approach to implement the government policy to put the UK’s plutonium beyond reach through immobilisation | 2025-2028 | 20 | |
| Integrated Waste Management | |||
| Continue to deliver important international transports of vitrified HLW and conditioned ILW | 2025-2028 | 34, 38 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Work with our operating companies to support the continued optimisation of our strategies for decommissioning and clean-up, embedding a rolling programme of decommissioning across NRS reactor sites and planning for the integration of AGRs | 2025-2028 | 42 to 46 | |
| Dedesignate or reuse | |||
| Work with Government, regulators and our operating companies to support continued development of more proportionate regulatory arrangements for final stage decommissioning and clean-up and the timely delivery of these | 2025-2028 | 45, 46, 47 | |
| Continue to lead the NDA group Remediation Forum, helping embed approaches to the determination and delivery of site end states across our sites, and sharing our learning through the wider Nuclear Industry Group on Land Quality | 2025-2028 | 45 | |
| Review opportunities available under our Group Operating Framework to make better use of our land, across the NDA-owned estate, to support delivery of our decommissioning and clean-up mission and also ensuring we deliver relevant long-term controls and stewardship of our sites | 2025-2028 | 46, 47 | |
| Critical Enablers | |||
| Develop and implement carbon reductions through carbon management plans at each operating company and meet Greening Government Commitments | 2025-2028 | CE1, CE2 | |
| Implement actions in our Nature Recovery Plan to build upon our natural capital baseline of our NDA-owned land and to improve the environmental value of this land where it aligns with other strategic land use opportunities and value for money | 2025-2028 | CE1, CE2 | |
| Deliver the one wellbeing strategy to improve Peakon performance , achieve MIND Workplace Wellbeing Index GOLD and be ISO45003 certification ready | 2025-2028 | CE1 | |
| Develop and implement a cross-estate Safety Improvement Plan building upon best practice at each operating company | 2025-2028 | CE1 | |
| Implement new processes and technologies to allow smarter, flexible working across the NDA. To include digital transformation and Information Governance initiatives across the group aimed at delivering new ways of working, whilst maintaining information security and legislative compliance | 2025-2028 | CE19 | |
| Collaborate on the evolution of the NDA group Digital Data and AI Strategy and lead on the development of a Data Target Operating Model | 2025-2028 | CE9 | |
| Proactively deter, detect, defend against, recover from and be resilient to both current and evolving cyber threats | 2025-2028 | CE4 | |
| Work with other nuclear and non-nuclear organisations to encourage and leverage cross- sector investment in research, development and innovation (RD&I) and lead the promotion and adoption of RD&I across the NDA group | 2025-2028 | CE5 | |
| Attract, retain and develop a high performing, agile workforce ensuring the right people with the right skills are in the right roles at the right time to effectively deliver our mission | 2025-2028 | CE6 | |
| Enhance the employee experience by ensuring that all elements of the employee lifecycle foster a culture or respect, inclusion and diversity ensuring that the NDA group is a great place to work | 2025-2028 | CE6 | |
| Leverage digital and AI technologies, simplify and optimise HR processes across the group and enhance data and reporting | 2025-2028 | CE6 | |
| Secure the necessary asset performance to deliver the strategic objectives and optimise through-life cost of assets | 2025-2028 | CE7 | |
| Ensure the safe, effective and efficient delivery of the NDA mission through building a continuous improvement capability in our own people | 2025-2028 | CE7 | |
| Build commercial capability which maintains a resilient, sustainable, diverse, ethical and innovative supply chain that optimises value for money for the UK taxpayer when sourcing goods and services | 2025-2028 | CE8 | |
| Support the maintenance of sustainable local economies for communities living near NDA sites and, where possible, contribute to regional economic growth | 2025-2028 | CE10 | |
| Provide opportunities for the public and stakeholders to better understand our mission, comment on and influence NDA planning and decision-making. And to enable the NDA to draw on the knowledge, and listen to the experience and perspectives, of stakeholders | 2025-2028 | CE11 | |
| Be a world leader in facilitating international collaboration in nuclear decommissioning | 2025-2028 | CE13 | |
| Develop strategic opportunities that optimise delivery of the mission | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Actively participate in supporting the Government’s clean energy imperative and provide support on nuclear new build decommissioning plans | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Develop a group-wide accommodation strategy (including welfare, warehousing, transport and logistics) allowing effective re-use of the operational land and creating great places to work | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Continue to engage with UK and international bodies and partners to share our learning and knowledge, learn from others, and support development of improved approaches to decommissioning and clean-up | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Lead a cross-group team to improve NDA group planning capability in order to fully leverage the benefits of the new group structure | 2025-2028 | - |
Springfields
- Planned expenditure for 2025/26 – £36 million
- 81 hectare site in Lancashire.
- All 81 hectares remain covered by the nuclear site licence.
Springfields is a nuclear fuel manufacturing site and is located near Preston in Lancashire. The site is operated by SFL and is used to manufacture a range of fuel products for UK and international customers, the processing of historic uranic residues and decommissioning of redundant facilities.
From April 2010, the NDA permanently transferred ownership of the company to Westinghouse Electric including the ability to invest for the future under the terms of a new 150-year lease. SFL is contracted to provide decommissioning and clean-up services to the NDA to address historic liabilities.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Materials | |||
| Uranics | |||
| Continue to appropriately manage, care and maintain NDA stock of uranic materials | 2025-2028 | - | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and Demolition | |||
| Continue decommissioning of the Magnox Island | 2025-2027 | 42, 43 |
Capenhurst
- Planned expenditure for 2025/26 - £26 million
- 30 hectare site in Cheshire.
- 17 hectares have been dedesignated.
- Modification of Designating Direction signed by the Minister in May 2010 and July 2012.
- Remaining 13 hectares are covered by the nuclear site licence.
Urenco Nuclear Stewardship (UNS) is owned by URENCO. The NDA Capenhurst site is located near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.
In 2012, the site was transferred to URENCO, owners of the adjacent licenced site, and was amalgamated into a single nuclear licensed site. As part of this transfer, URENCO established UNS, formerly known as Capenhurst Nuclear Services (CNS), to provide management of uranic materials and carry out remediation work on behalf of the NDA.
UNS manages a large proportion of the NDA’s uranic inventory and provides broader decommissioning and demolition works for
redundant facilities, in order to reduce liability and optimise space utilisation on site.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Materials | |||
| Uranics | |||
| Continue the safe storage and management of uranic materials, including management of uranium hexafluoride tails prior to processing through the Tails Management Facility | 2025-2028 | 22, 23, 24, 25 | |
| Site Decommissioning and Remediation | |||
| Decommissioning and Demolition | |||
| Continue decommissioning of key facilities | 2025-2027 | 41, 42, 43, 47 |
Rutherford Indemnity Limited
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical enablers | |||
| Provide optimal insurance coverage to the NDA to support its NDA group-wide insurance programme, exploiting opportunities to reduce overall cost of insurance risk and offering insurance solutions (including support for claims handling enhancements) to meet the evolving needs of the group | 2025-2028 | ||
| Continue to deliver the target return on the investment portfolio, protecting Rutherford’s ability to offer insurance on a cost-effective basis, maintaining liquidity in order to be able to respond promptly to a major loss | 2025-2028 | ||
| Continue to use a prudent proportion of Rutherford’s assets to support infrastructure investment within the NDA group | 2025-2028 | ||
| Maintain capability for payment of dividends to the shareholder | 2025-2028 |
NDA Archives Ltd
NDA Archives is an NDA subsidiary, responsible for Nucleus (the Nuclear and Caithness Archives) and related operational activities across the NDA group. The Nucleus facility is currently operated by a commercial partner and provides the centre of excellence for long- term records management, archive services, digital preservation and heritage management.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical enablers | |||
| Continuing to meet the environmental targets set across the NDA group in alignment with our obligations under the Greening Government Commitments Scheme | 2025-2028 | ||
| Development and delivery of Heritage roadmap aligning with Heritage Strategy and meeting statutory obligations where required | 2025-2027 | ||
| Development of accommodation options, including strategies/proposals for dealing with increased capacity needs at Nucleus, potential commercial opportunities, and the NDA group’s material and samples management and storage requirements | 2025-2028 | ||
| Engaging in a programme of continual improvement with the commercial partner for operations at Nucleus | 2025-2028 | ||
| Continue Sellafield off-site collection sift | 2025-2028 |
NDA Properties Ltd
NDA Properties Ltd is an NDA subsidiary, holding and managing the majority of the non-nuclear property assets within the NDA group.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical enablers | |||
| Effective and efficient management and assurance of retained landholding consisting of 1,106 hectares across 87 properties | 2025-2028 | ||
| Review and deliver progressive environmental stewardship across the portfolio estate. Identify beneficial projects and collaborate in delivering these for community or environmental gain. Support NDA work on nature recovery plans and biodiversity net gain initiatives | 2025-2028 | ||
| Proactively dispose/release surplus assets no longer required by the NDA group or wider parts of Government, including those that have high socio-economic value | 2025-2028 | ||
| To engage and collaborate with NDA group and stakeholders to target carbon reduction opportunities to support achieving carbon net zero objectives | 2025-2028 |
Energus
Energus is an NDA subsidiary offering conference and events facilities and a range of training, education and business support services geared to providing and enhancing skills within both the local and national nuclear workforce.
| Key activities | Timescale | Strategic outcome/critical enabler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical enablers | |||
| Continue to work closely with the NDA and stakeholders across the nuclear sector to upskill and develop the workforce of today and tomorrow | 2025-2028 | ||
| Continue to manage and facilitate a range of training opportunities for the NDA group and wider nuclear sector, including: Nuclear graduates, NDA group Graduate Programme, functional programmes for both graduates and apprentices including cyber security, finance, audit and risk, radiation protection, commercial, business and civil engineering, support for the National Nuclear Skills Plan and work in partnership with key stakeholders such as NCfN, NSAN, NIA, ONR | |||
| 2025-2028 | |||
| Provide a range of managed services within the people and skills arena including recruitment programmes, work experience and STEM engagement – supporting the NDA group and Nuclear Sector commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and achieving greater levels of social value and socio-economic benefit to our communities and broader stakeholders | 2025-2028 | ||
| Provide a high-quality training environment for all Sellafield apprentices, working with a range of education partners and suppliers | 2025-2028 | ||
| Continue to be a Cumbrian venue of choice for events, conferences and delivery of training and education | 2025-2028 |
Delivery of our mission up to 2043.pdf
Useful links
- Nuclear Decommissioning Authority www.gov.uk/nda
- Department for Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Sellafield Ltd www.gov.uk/government/organisations/sellafield-ltd
- Nuclear Restoration Services www.gov.uk/government/organisations/nuclear-restoration-services
- Nuclear Waste Services www.gov.uk/government/organisations/nuclear-waste-services
- Nuclear Transport Solutions www.nucleartransportsolutions.com
- URENCO Ltd
- Springfields Fuels Ltd www.westinghousenuclear.com
Useful documentation
- The NDA group sustainability strategy 2022 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- The NDA group sustainability report 2024 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA Strategy - March 2021 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA Mid-Year Performance Report 2023 to 2024 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA Annual Report and Accounts 2023 to 2024 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA Business Plan 2024 to 2027 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA Mission Progress Report 2024 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA areas of research interest (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA Social Impact and Communities Strategy April 2024 (www.gov.uk/nda)
- NDA Value Framework (www.gov.uk/nda)
Glossary
AGR Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor
BEIS Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
BOS Balance of Site
DESNZ Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
CAPEX Capital expenditure
DCP Dounreay Cementation Plant
DFR Dounreay Fast Reactor
DRS Direct Rail Services Ltd
DSRL Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd
EDFE EDF Energy
ED&I Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
FCA Fuel Cycle Area
FGMSP First Generation Magnox Storage Pond
FHP Fuel Handling Plant
GDF Geological Disposal Facility
HAL Highly Active Liquor
ILW Intermediate Level Waste
INS International Nuclear Services Ltd
LETP Liquid Effluent Treatment Plant
LLW Low Level Waste
LLWR Low Level Waste Repository
MOD Ministry of Defence
MOX Mixed Oxide Fuel
MSSS Magnox Swarf Storage Silo
NDA Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
NDAPL NDA Properties Ltd
NTS Nuclear Transport Solutions
NWS Nuclear Waste Services
POCO Post Operational Clean Out
PFR Prototype Fast Reactor
PFSP Pile Fuel Storage Pond
PPP Programme and Project Partners
RD&I Research, Development and Innovation
RPD Rolling Programme of Decommissioning
RWM Radioactive Waste Management Ltd
SGHWR Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor
SLC Site Licence Company
SME Small and Medium Enterprise
SSS Site-Specific Strategies
THORP Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
UKGI UK Government Investments