Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 32
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)
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 than in previous years.96 We explored what the NDA and Sellafield Ltd had done to improve the workplace culture on its sites. The NDA told us that it had introduced more consistent approaches to ‘Speak Up’, supported by a network of 45 ‘Ethics Ambassadors’ across the group who can act as a first point of contact. It told us that the early signs are that its new approach is having a positive impact.97 Sellafield Ltd’s chief executive told us that he had deliberately sought to address a ‘disconnect’ with the workforce upon his appointment in July 2023, while also improving the site’s leadership culture.98 The Department told us that it wanted to see further improvements; its annual letters to the NDA’s chair and chief executive instruct them to continue focussing on culture, while it is now reviewing a new ‘people dashboard’ on a monthly basis.99 91 Q4; 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 1 92 C&AG’s report, para 1.11 93 Q 84 94 Qq 3, 7; 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 95 C&AG’s report, para 1.13 96 Q 6 97 Q 3; 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 4–5 98 Qq 2, 90 99 Q 85 22
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".