Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Accepted
Sellafield's century-long decommissioning plan faces urgent race against ageing assets.
Conclusion
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 permanent storage, before the final phase sees all the remaining buildings demolished. The Sellafield site is no longer reprocessing fuel – meaning some of the facilities on the site are no longer required.55 In the words of the Department, “a lot of the work at Sellafield is a race against time [ … ] sorting things out within the lifespans of the existing assets”.56 50 Letter from the Group Chief Executive Officer at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority relating to the oral evidence session held on 20 March on Decommissioning Sellafield, 4 April 2025, page 3 51 Committee of Public Accounts, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: risk reduction at Sellafield, Sixty–Fifth Report of session 2017 –2019, HC 1375, 31 October 2018 52 Letter from the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority relating to Public Accounts Committee’s visit to Sellafield, 17 March 2025, page 3 53 Q 66 54 Q 73 55 Letter from the Group Chief Executive Officer at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority relating to the oral evidence session held on 20 March on Decommissioning Sellafield, 4 April 2025, pages 5–6 56 Q 50 16 The ‘Waste Vitrification Plant’ is a good example – Sellafield Ltd would like to complete processing of ‘highly active liquor’ by 2039 as it expects the plant will be less reliable after that point.57
Government Response Summary
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 assess strategic planning, project delivery, and financial management.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2027 2.2 Currently there are mission-length plans spanning 100+ years for each Operating Company (OpCo) within the NDA group. These reflect the best estimate of key activities that need to be completed and/or new capabilities that need to be constructed to deliver the mission. The costs of delivering the plans are used to construct the nuclear provision. The approach to the construction of the plans varies significantly as they were initially developed by the previous Parent Body Organisations operating the sites. 2.3 NDA will develop, under its annual target on Group Strategic Planning, a consistent planning approach for short, medium and long-term planning horizons, to unify the plans across the estate, enabling stronger integration between the OpCos and strengthening the Group planning capability. It will deliver revised whole-life plans, 20-year corporate plans, and 5-year operating plans for each OpCo. 2.4 The NDA will define the outcomes to be delivered and the associated medium-term milestones/targets to enable continual monitoring of delivery performance at OpCo and group levels and inform management actions to maintain plan delivery within strategic tolerances. In addition, the NDA will set out what actions will be needed, including clear milestones, to achieve a completely decommissioned site. 2.5 Once the medium-term targets and long-term actions have been determined and agreed they will be reported on annually through the Sellafield Ltd Executive and Board and the NDA. Work is required to establish how and then when this information would be made public, considering existing NDA public reporting mechanisms, such as the NDA Annual Report and Accounts, Strategy and Business Plan. 2.6 In addition, DESNZ will commission by end-2025 an independent and externally led review of the NDA Group. This review will consider strategic planning and management to optimise Value for Money, project and programme delivery, financial management and the potential value of providing the NDA with longer-term financing and freedoms.