The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) was set up in 2004 and has overall responsibility for clean-up and decommissioning work arising from the UK’s civil nuclear programme. Since April 2016 it has had direct control of Sellafield Ltd, the company responsible primarily for decommissioning the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria.
A new report by the National Audit Office into the NDA found that work at Sellafield accounted for 61% of the NDA’s total £3.3 billion expenditure in 2017–18. 8 of NDA’s 10 most hazardous sites are at Sellafield, whilst NAO expected current major projects at Sellafield will cost £6 billion total.
The NAO found that the NDA had made significant progress in reducing delays and meeting significant milestones, but expects major NDA projects to cost more than originally estimated in 2015. Evaluating performance at Sellafield remained difficult due to the complexity and scale of the site, but more could be done to explain progress, and to provide assurance of major projects.
The Committee will take evidence from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and Sellafield to explore NDA and Sellafield’s progress and performance.
