Recommendations & Conclusions
28 items
2
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The targets set for Sellafield Ltd neither support DESNZ and the NDA in holding it to account for poor performance, nor allow Sellafield Ltd to demonstrate it is making meaningful progress towards addressing the site’s hazards. In recent years, Sellafield Ltd has missed its most important hazard reduction targets more …
Government response. The government agrees, stating the NDA will develop a consistent planning approach, deliver revised whole-life, 20-year, and 5-year operating plans, and define medium-term milestones. The NDA will also set out actions for achieving a decommissioned site, with progress reported annually. …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
Sellafield’s ability to deliver its largest projects on time and budget is still too variable. While there are some recent signs of improvement, Sellafield continues to repeat old mistakes. Four of the largest projects at Sellafield will collectively cost £1.15 billion more, and be delivered many years later than Sellafield …
Government response. The government agrees, stating Sellafield Ltd will provide an update on future analytical capability plans within six months (December 2025) and a further update once the Outline Business Case for Special Nuclear Material capability is completed (June 2026), including a …
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The failure of the Replacement Analytical Project illustrates the need to improve asset management at Sellafield. Sellafield is frequently in a race against time to complete work before assets (such as buildings or equipment) reach the end of their life or risks materialise (particularly as changes to planning assumptions can …
Government response. The government agrees and states the recommendation has been implemented. Sellafield Ltd has sent a letter outlining its asset management approach, including a targeted Asset Management Intervention launched in 2022, whose outcomes will be embedded into business-as-usual operations.
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
DESNZ is not doing enough to ensure that long–term value for money is achieved from decommissioning the Sellafield site. The cost of decommissioning Sellafield continues to grow – notwithstanding the billions spent on the site every year. The NDA’s tight funding setttlement for 2025–26 will mean more work slips into …
Government response. The government agrees and commits that scenario planning will be undertaken by the NDA and Sellafield Ltd, focusing on the impact of different funding levels. This will be generated alongside an update to the current mission plan, with further work …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The NDA and Sellafield Ltd still have more to do to build a culture where all employees feel able to raise concerns and report poor behaviour. The exceptionally hazardous nature of many of Sellafield’s activities means that it is imperative that all employees and contractors on the site feel able …
Government response. The government agrees that the NDA will publish an annual "People" report containing staff survey results, Speak Up data, and other cultural health metrics. The report will consider breaking down results by Operating Company and demographics, guided by confidentiality, and …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (the Department), the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (the NDA) and Sellafield Ltd on the decommissioning of the Sellafield site.1
Government response. The government agrees and states the recommendation has been implemented, detailing existing oversight frameworks and a recently implemented new governance structure by DESNZ and UKGI. Within 2025-26, the department will initiate a review of this revised governance structure.
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
We heard from the NDA that the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is “the most hazardous building in the UK”. It has been leaking radioactive water into the ground since 2018–we calculated, at current rates, enough to fill an Olympic–size swimming pool approximately every three years. The NDA accepted that this …
Government response. The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, detailing how the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has recently heightened its oversight of NDA and Sellafield through new governance structures, increased meeting cadences, and shifting responsibilities from UKGI. …
HM Treasury
8
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
Since 2020, Sellafield Ltd has missed most of its operational targets for retrieving waste, and turning liquid waste into a glass–like substance (both of which reduce the hazard the waste poses).12 It told us that the COVID–19 pandemic had had a big impact – particularly on the facility which turns …
Government response. The government accepted the recommendation, stating the NDA will develop a consistent strategic planning approach by March 2027, unifying plans across the estate and delivering revised whole-life, corporate, and operating plans with clear milestones. Additionally, DESNZ will commission an independent …
HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The Department, NDA and Sellafield Ltd have all taken actions to improve the management of the plutonium stored at Sellafield since the previous Committee expressed concerns about this. The previous Committee raised then the lack of a long–term strategy for the stockpile.16 The Department has now decided that a new …
Government response. The government accepted the recommendation, stating Sellafield Ltd will provide an update on future analytical capability plans by December 2025 and a further update with a delivery schedule upon Outline Business Case completion for Special Nuclear Material capability by June …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
Sellafield Ltd has–in conjunction with the NDA and the Office for Nuclear Regulation–set a ‘strategic tolerance’ for completing key activities. It described this to us as the date “we really want to hit”, to ensure that the site is fully cleaned up by 2125. We explored the consequences of not …
Government response. The government agrees, stating the NDA will develop a consistent planning approach for all operating companies, delivering revised whole-life, corporate, and operating plans by March 2027. Additionally, DESNZ will commission an independent review of the NDA Group by end-2025 to …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
Sellafield Ltd has shown that it is technically possible to retrieve waste from all of its oldest ponds and silos.25 The plan to make the site less hazardous assumes that it will be able to significantly accelerate the speed it works at over the next few years – and then …
Government response. The government agrees, stating the NDA will develop a consistent planning approach for all operating companies, delivering revised whole-life, corporate, and operating plans by March 2027. Additionally, DESNZ will commission an independent review of the NDA Group by end-2025 to …
HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
We explored with the witnesses what Sellafield Ltd needs to do to reach the point where retrieving waste becomes an efficient, routine activity. As well as installing the right equipment, they emphasised the importance of “constant iteration” – addressing problems such as the availability of cranes as they arise and …
Government response. The government accepted the recommendation, stating the NDA will develop a consistent strategic planning approach by March 2027, unifying plans across the estate and delivering revised whole-life, corporate, and operating plans with clear milestones. Additionally, DESNZ will commission an independent …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
More generally, the Department and the NDA told us that they believed that there was a much greater focus on ensuring projects were well–planned. ‘Reference class forecasting’ is being used to help ensure that project baselines are realistic, and there are now more frequent ‘check–ins’ with teams during the planning …
Government response. The government reinforces the committee's observations about improved project planning and assurance, citing the 2024 NAO report which noted positive progress in major project delivery and the effectiveness of Reference Class Forecasting and the Programme and Project Partners (PPP) model.
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
We asked the NDA and Sellafield Ltd what they were doing to ensure that other projects benefitted from these improvements. Sellafield Ltd told us that it was looking to share learning with those projects which were being delivered under its pre–existing arrangements – such as those which were already well …
Government response. The government states that a target focused on improving project and contract delivery by sharing and implementing lessons learned was successfully delivered in 2024-25 and will inform the NDA’s group-wide organizational learning policy.
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
A notable exception to this positive trend is the ‘Replacement Analytical Project’ (RAP) – which Sellafield Ltd now believes should be abandoned.44 This project would have refurbished a laboratory on the site so Sellafield Ltd would be able to continue analysing samples of waste – which is essential to operate …
Government response. The government agrees to provide an update on future analytical capability plans as alternatives to the Replacement Analytical Project by December 2025, and a further update on the Outline Business Case for SNM capability by June 2026.
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
Sellafield Ltd now plans to convert a different building to support SRP, and also refurbish the existing building so it can carry on using it until 2040 (whereas RAP had been expected to remain in use until 2070).49 The NDA told us that it expects this to cost between £420 …
Government response. The government agrees with the conclusion, stating Sellafield Ltd will provide an update on future analytical capability plans by December 2025. A further update, including a delivery schedule for the Special Nuclear Material capability, will be provided by June 2026 …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The previous Committee criticised the NDA in 2018 for failing to learn the lessons from projects it had cancelled after belatedly realising that there were more cost–effective ways to reduce risk (having spent £586 million of taxpayers’ money on three projects it had cancelled since 2012).51 The NDA told us …
Government response. The government states that a target focused on improving project and contract delivery by sharing and implementing lessons learned was successfully delivered in 2024-25 and will inform the NDA’s group-wide organizational learning policy.
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The NDA told us that its plan for decommissioning Sellafield will take around a hundred years, and has three phases. The current phase, focussing on ‘minimising the risk of offsite consequences’ will last until approximately the 2060s; in the next phase most of the waste will be moved offsite for …
Government response. The government agrees, stating the NDA will develop a consistent planning approach for all operating companies, delivering revised whole-life, corporate, and operating plans by March 2027. Additionally, DESNZ will commission an independent review of the NDA Group by end-2025 to …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
There is an increasing backlog of maintenance tasks at Sellafield which is affecting the condition of Sellafield’s assets. Sellafield Ltd could not carry out some tasks during the COVID–19 pandemic due to restrictions on working practices to prevent transmission of the virus. However even now, fewer maintenance tasks are being …
Government response. The government states the recommendation is implemented, explaining that Sellafield Ltd launched a targeted Asset Management Intervention in 2022 and its outcomes will be embedded into business-as-usual operations.
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
We explored with the witnesses the implications of assets’ condition for Sellafield Ltd’s plans to address hazards and clean up the site by 2125 and identified four areas of particular concern. Firstly – poor availability of assets has impeded Sellafield Ltd’s ability to address site hazards (such as retrieving waste …
Government response. The government states the recommendation is implemented, explaining that Sellafield Ltd launched a targeted Asset Management Intervention in 2022 and its outcomes will be embedded into business-as-usual operations.
HM Treasury
24
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The forecast cost of decommissioning Sellafield has risen considerably since we last reported. It now stands at £136 billion, an increase of 18.8% since March 2019.68 We challenged the witnesses about the adequacy of the NDA’s budget as we are concerned that unwillingness to spend money in the short term …
Government response. The government accepted the recommendation, committing to undertake scenario planning by December 2026 to assess the impact of different funding levels on the Sellafield mission and inform group-level strategic planning.
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The NDA acknowledged that its funding settlement for 2025–26 means “there are difficult decisions to be made about some of the less critical aspects”.70 It subsequently told us that it would ideally “remove risk/ hazard and liability at the earliest opportunity” and that decommissioning can free up space for other …
Government response. The government agrees to undertake scenario planning by December 2026, focusing on the impact of different funding levels on the Sellafield Ltd mission, to inform an updated mission plan.
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
We explored how the Department, as sponsor, ensures that the NDA and Sellafield Ltd achieve value for money. It told us that it was for the NDA board and the Sellafield board to decide how to allocate resources, within the funding envelope set by ministers.76 We also sought to understand …
Government response. The government agrees, committing to undertake scenario planning by December 2026 to improve visibility of the uncertainties linked to Sellafield Ltd's mission, particularly focusing on funding levels. This will be developed alongside an update to the NDA and Sellafield Ltd …
HM Treasury
27
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The previous Committee questioned whether UK Government Investments (UKGI) ‘is playing any useful role’ – and whether its function could instead be discharged by the Department.78 The Department told us that UKGI did help it hold the NDA to account, and that its teams had particular expertise in corporate governance, …
Government response. The government stated the recommendation is implemented, explaining that DESNZ has heightened its oversight of the NDA, assumed responsibility for major project and commercial/contract performance from UKGI, and will initiate a review of the revised governance structure in 2025-26.
HM Treasury
29
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The previous Committee took evidence on how the civil service responds to whistleblowing, and found that the government needs to do more to signal the value of whistleblowers.85 It is particularly important that everyone working on a site as hazardous as Sellafield feels free to raise any concerns they have. …
Government response. The government agrees, stating the NDA has strengthened its Speak Up policy and will publish an annual "People" report by October 2026. This report will include staff survey results and Speak Up data to provide a contextualised view of cultural …
HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
Sellafield Ltd told us that it believed it does have a robust process for reporting safety issues as this is one of the conditions of its nuclear site licence. It pointed to the “green rating” it had received the last time the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) had reviewed its …
Government response. The government agrees to publish an annual 'People' report by October 2026, which will contain staff survey results, Speak Up data, and other information to assess corporate culture.
HM Treasury
31
Recommendation
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The Department also considered that workers’ willingness to report safety issues is correlated with their willingness to report other poor behaviour.89 We asked about Sellafield Ltd’s use of non–disclosure agreements–a previous Public Accounts Committee report noted that these agreements have been used elsewhere in the public sector to cover up …
Government response. The government accepted the recommendation, stating the NDA will publish an annual “People” report by October 2026, providing data on staff survey results, Speak Up incidents, and safety culture to enhance transparency and assess corporate culture.
HM Treasury
32
Conclusion
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Accepted
The NAO report recognises that there has been an improvement since 2021 in the number of employees at Sellafield who would recommend it as a great place to work.95 Sellafield Ltd informed us that the most recent survey showed a further improvement, with more employees taking part in the survey …
Government response. The government agrees to publish an annual 'People' report by October 2026, which will contain staff survey results, Speak Up data, and other information to assess corporate culture.
HM Treasury