Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 15
28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield
Published 4 Jun 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Decommissioning Sellafield All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We asked the witnesses to explain what has led to the apparent improvement in how projects are now being delivered. Sellafield Ltd told us that it was now delivering its largest projects in a new way, which it calls ‘Programme and Project Partners’ (PPP). Under this model, it works closely with four suppliers to deliver a portfolio of projects over a 20–year period – giving them incentives to develop the workforce, avoiding unnecessary costs and improving co–ordination between projects. We were pleased to hear that Sellafield Ltd is optimistic that the PPP model will deliver even better outcomes in future – as the next group of projects will have been entirely delivered under these arrangements.40
From: Public Accounts Committee, 28th Report - Decommissioning Sellafield (HC 363), 4 June 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-eighth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 4 August 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-eighth report from Session 2024-26
Published 18 September 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it agrees with each of the Committee's recommendations covered in this extract, with target implementation dates ranging from December 2025 to March 2027, though some are already implemented and some publication details remain to be settled.
- On oversight (recommendation 1), the government agrees and describes the recommendation as implemented. Since January 2025 the department's Principal Sponsor chairs monthly performance meetings, and a review of the revised governance structure will be initiated within 2025-26.
- On medium-term targets (recommendation 2), the government agrees, with a target date of March 2027. Work "is required to establish how and then when this information would be made public", and DESNZ will commission an independent, externally led review of the NDA Group by end-2025.
- On asset management (recommendation 4), the government agrees and says the recommendation is implemented. It states that "Solely increasing the productivity of maintenance teams misses the demands" of the site's complex asset picture.
- On long-term cost scenarios (recommendation 5), the government agrees, with a target date of December 2026. It says "It will be necessary to agree the mechanism and timing, including what is published".