Recommendation 4

For the new delivery model to work, it will be vital that the Department exercises strong oversight of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and implements the findings of forthcoming reviews into the failure of the original Magnox contract and the role of the Authority. Under the previous delivery model of outsourcing the decommissioning of nuclear sites to a ‘parent body organisation’ from the private sector, the Department was a further step removed from exercising oversight of the decommissioning process than it is now. Indeed, the Department The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s management of the Magnox contract 7 acknowledges that this led to it missing some of the problems that arose with the Magnox sites and contract. The Department tells us that its relationship with the NDA has changed, with improved oversight of both the NDA’s strategy and progress with its major projects, a dedicated team in the Department looking at the NDA, and a representative of UK Government Investments on the NDA’s own board who reports to the Department’s accounting officer. But we remain concerned about the Department’s capacity to oversee the NDA effectively, and about the number of players from different parts of Government who are involved. Key to learning lessons from the past and establishing appropriate oversight and governance will be implementing the recommendations of the Holliday inquiry into the Magnox contract and the Department’s ‘Tailored Review’ of the role of the NDA. We welcome the Department’s commitment to completing and publishing these reports as a priority, but it is frustrating and concerning that it is taking so long for these important reviews to be published. Recommendations: On publication of the Holliday report and tailored review, the Department and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority should set out publicly what has been learnt from them and how the reports are being used to inform the development of the new delivery and governance models. In res