The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

 

Over 100 people from around the UK gathered in Manchester as part of the NDA's commitment to consult and engage with its stakeholders.

Delegates at the National Stakeholder Group meeting, on 17-18 June, included representatives from the communities around NDA's 19 sites, local authorities, the Government, trades unions and regulators.

NDA Chief Finance Officer Bill Roberts said: "Stakeholders have a valuable role to play in contributing to the design of our future activity. They also want to hear about progress and how the organisation is spending their money".

Bill also outlined some of the NDA's work over the last 12 months including the appointment of Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) at Sellafield – one of the largest and most complex public procurements ever seen in the UK.

The organisation had achieved ahead-of-target efficiency savings for year 2008/09, he added, but stressed that increased pressures on public finances would affect the whole public sector.

"We're also maximising value from our estate, using innovative techniques to raise money for the sale of our land. A recent online auction has maximised the return to the taxpayer by raising many millions of pounds more on the sale of land than we envisaged".

The National Stakeholder Group meets twice a year, enabling stakeholders to express their views on national issues and question senior NDA representatives. The NSG also facilitates interaction between local, national and international stakeholders.

Issues discussed in Manchester included progress on the Strategy Management System, socio-economic investment, progress on decommissioning and clean-up at Sellafield, geological waste disposal and an in-depth discussion on waste.

One stakeholder who attended said: "These sessions are a good way of seeing how the NDA is progressing. We also need to understand better how the NDA spends our money.

"I have harboured concerns about how the investment in decommissioning and clean-up is spread around the sites. Some sites seem to get a lot more than others.

"Having said that, I understand better the process the NDA uses in terms of prioritising work like high hazards".

Another stakeholder commented: "It all gets a bit too technical sometimes, and understanding the jargon is difficult. The good thing is that people are there to clarify and explain things!"

A member of the local Sizewell community said: "New nuclear power stations will be a big issue for the NDA and I have concerns that the focus on decommissioning and clean-up could be diluted."

Another pointed to waste as a major issue, and felt the NDA needed to be better at explaining disposal options so that people could make more informed judgements.

Meanwhile, NDA Chairman Stephen Henwood underlined the challenges ahead in his address: "Our future funding is about prioritising and allocating resources in the right places at the right time.

"I know it is impossible to satisfy everyone, but our strength will lie in the ability to identify and prioritise the highest hazards and dealing with these hazards appropriately. In doing that, however, I also accept we need to be open and transparent in our decision-making processes."

He continued: "Our future income will be affected by power stations coming off-line and reduction in reprocessing activities. The pressures on public finances add to the financial challenges we face, but we also require clarity and certainty if we are to move ahead with our mission of decommission and clean-up.

"This will be achieved only if we can make the best possible case for funding. Our ability to do this will be based on providing clarity on our programmes of work, and how well we and our partners deliver against these programmes."

You can also contribute to the work of the NDA by expressing your views via the consultation section of our website: see previous and current consultations

Watch out for a more detailed report on our NSG over the next few weeks.