9 Feb (NucNet): The UK government has announced plans to bring forward legislation creating a new independent nuclear regulatory body by April this year, according to a ministerial statement from the department of work and pensions.
The new interim body will be known as the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and would assume the functions currently undertaken in civil nuclear regulation by the government’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The statement says that the ONR would consolidate within its remit civil nuclear and radioactive transport safety and security regulation.
The department of work and pensions (DWP) said that pending planned government legislation, the HSE would establish the ONR as a non-statutory body, and on an interim basis from the 1 April 2011.
The government would then review the functions of the ONR before introducing the new legislation, which would establish the body as a new statutory corporation. The DWP and HSE told NucNet today that the new body will be an agency of the HSE.
Yesterday’s statement added that most of the costs of the new regulator will be recovered from charges from operators in the nuclear industry rather than from public funding. Additional costs would be met by the industry, the statement said.
In October 2010 the UK government confirmed eight potential sites as potentially suitable for new nuclear power plants. The first of the new units could be online by 2018.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
UK Regulators’ Reactor Report Warns Of Conflicts of Interest (News in Brief No. 149, 25 August 2010)
‘Significant Issues’ Remain With UK Assessment Process, Report Says (World Nuclear Review No. 38, 24 September 2010)
UK Regulator Says EPR Design Concerns Have Been Addressed (News in Brief No. 206, 16 November 2010)
