- Date released
- 15 April 2020
- Request number
- 202002068
- Release of information under
- Freedom of Information Act 2000
Information requested
- Advanced Nuclear Technologies (ANTs) minutes from the BEIS and EA sub-project board from the past 12 months.
- ONR’s contact records in relation to ANTs from the past 12 months.
Information released
I confirm that under section 1 of the FOIA, we hold the information related to your request. We have identified information in 37 documents of which 23 we are releasing with redactions, 14 have been withheld entirely. Please find further details below.
Absolute Exemptions
Some information has been withheld because it contains personal data (particularly names of participants of meetings). The personal data has been withheld using the exemption section 40(2) (Personal information) of the FOIA.
This exemption allows public authorities to protect personal information. Release of the information would breach principle (a) of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (lawfulness, fairness and transparency) on the grounds that there is no lawful basis to process this data.
In addition, releasing this personal data would also breach principle (b) of GDPR (purpose limitation) as the data was provided solely for a record of attending the meeting.
Some information has been withheld because it was provided to ONR in confidence and its disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence. The information has been withheld using the exemption section 41 (Information provided in confidence) of the FOIA.
The disclosure of this information would adversely affect the confidentiality of commercial information where such confidentiality is provided by law to protect legitimate economic interests. We therefore consider that disclosure would be an unauthorised use of the information to the detriment of the information owners and would be an actionable breach of confidence.
These are both absolute exemptions so do not require a Public Interest Test. Please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office website for full details.
Qualified Exemptions - Public Interest Test:
Some information has been withheld because it contains details which if released would negatively impact international relations (S27) and commercial interests (S43). As these are qualified exemptions, we are required to balance the public interest between disclosure and non-disclosure. We have therefore applied the Public Interest Test, as set out below:
Factors for release (Sections 27and 43):
- Use of the exemptions provides no further information to the public and represents a frustration of ONR’s policy of openness and transparency.
- The public have a vested interest in the development of new technologies related to the nuclear industry.
- Issues related to the nuclear industry are subject to close scrutiny and debate, there is a public interest in information related to nuclear activities and the release of such information.
- The information may provide reassurance to the public about the safety of Advanced Nuclear Technologies (ANTs).
- It may also facilitate the accountability and transparency of ONR for decisions taken by them as a regulator and enforcing authority for nuclear safety and security.
Factors against release: Section 27(1) – International relations
Section 27(1) of the FOIA provides for information to be exempt if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice relations between the UK and any other state, relations between the UK and any other international organisation or international court, the interests of the UK abroad, or the promotion or protection by the UK of its interests abroad.
- Disclosing such information would give the impression that the ONR, as the independent nuclear regulator in the UK, could not be trusted with sensitive information from international organisations and other states. This would adversely affect ONR’s and the UK’s immediate and future relations and opportunities to participate in information sharing forums and discussions on the development on ANTs, which could be of benefit to UK interests.
- Disclosure would prejudice the interests of the UK abroad in particular the UK policy and strategic positioning to other states and international organisations in relation to ANTs. This is because releasing information regarding ANT discussions between ONR and other states and international organisations would harm the working relationships between the UK and the other states and organisations in question.
- The development of thinking on such nationally and internationally important issues must take place in an arena that is conducive to independent regulatory decision-making without outside commercial interference or commentary from vested interests.
Conclusion:
Across the world, several states and organisations of states continue to be engaged with research and development of ANTs. Most ANTs are still in various stages of development, with some near-term deployable but many still in early stages. Some of the information held by ONR was provided in confidence and is proprietary of other states or organisations.
After careful consideration of the factors set out above, ONR has concluded that the public interest test favours withholding the release of the information under the FOIA. Prejudice to international relations arising from disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in contributing to public knowledge and understanding of the ONR’s discussions in relation to ANTs.
Factors against release: Section 43 – Commercial Interests
Section 43(1) of the FOIA provides for information relating to trade secrets to be exempt from disclosure.
- ANTs encompass a wide range of innovative and novel nuclear reactor technologies; this information is effectively trade secrets and has not been widely disseminated nor is widely known. Disclosure of this information would cause harm to third-parties as it would be advantageous to competitors and should therefore be afforded a high level of secrecy. Section 43(2) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial
interests of any person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity).
- We believe that commercial interests would be harmed by the disclosure of this information and it is likely to significantly damage the interest in question by assisting its competitors.
- Disclosing the information provided by vendors in confidence in relation to their development of proprietary ANTs projects, programmes and capabilities could potentially prejudice the supplier’s commercial interests by distorting this specialist international research and development sector.
Conclusion:
After careful consideration of the factors set out above, ONR has concluded that the public interest favours withholding the information under section 43(1) and (2). Disclosure would prejudice the commercial interests primarily of organisations that have been involved in the discussions covered by the information in question. This outweighs the public interest in the release of this information.
Overall conclusion:
After careful consideration of the factors set out above, ONR has concluded that the information in the 23 documents listed in Annex A should be disclosed. Annex A sets out the titles of these documents and the exemptions applied to any redactions. Annex B gives the titles of the 14 documents we are withholding in their entirety.
- Annex A documents - 202002068-1
- Annex A documents - 202002068-2
- Annex A documents - 202002068-3
- Annex A documents - 202002068-4
Further information: In addition to the package of information, we would like to remind you of our offer of a teleconference with the ANT team on a date convenient to you to allow you to discuss further the work we are doing on ANTs and ask our team any additional questions you may have. Please let me know if this is of interest to you.
Annex A
| Exemptions applied | Title |
|---|---|
| S40 | Minutes from Advanced Nuclear Technologies Extraordinary Regulatory Review Meeting (15th March 2019) |
| S27, S40, S41, S43 | Minutes from Advanced Nuclear Technologies Regulatory Review Meeting and Sub-Division Board (15th May 2019) |
| S40, S43 | Minutes from Advanced Nuclear Technologies Regulatory Review Meeting and Sub-Division Board (19th November 2019) |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-18-784 - AMR - Phase 1 Competition - U-Battery |
| S40 | ONR-NR-CR-18-779 - Stage 3 SMR Mature Technology Industry Engagement - GE Hitachi |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-18-781 - AMR LeadCold Vendor Engagement |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-18-782 - AMR Moltex Vendor Engagement |
| S27, S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-18-783 - AMR - Phase 1 Competition - DBD |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-18-785 - AMR - Phase 1 Competition - Westinghouse Vendor Engagement Meeting |
| S40 | ONR-NR-CR-18-786 - AMR - Phase 1 Competition - ARC |
| S40 | ONR-NR-CR-18-787 - AMR - Phase 1 Competition - USNC |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-02 - Stage 3 SMR Mature Technology Industry Engagement - EDF |
| S40 | ONR-NR-CR-19-009 - International SMR & Advanced Reactor Summit 2019 |
S27, S40, S43 |
ONR-NR-CR-19-047 - Structural Robustness Workshop and Bilateral Exchange with the CNSC in Ottawa, Canada |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-099 - SMR Vendor Engagement Meeting - Rolls Royce |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-105 - Stage 2 SMR Mature Technology Industry Engagement |
| S40 | ONR-NR-CR-19-254 - Stage 2 SMR Mature Technology Industry Engagement – Rolls Royce |
| S27, S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-270- ONR/NRC - Regulatory Guidance 1.232 - Design Criteria for Non-light water reactors |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-328 - Fast Reactor Knowledge Capture Update with NNL |
| S40 | ONR-NR-CR-19-388 - Telephone conference with EA as part of the ANT NLR research strand regarding engagement with RWM on disposability of wastes |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-411 - Environment Agency Advanced Nuclear Technologies Knowledge Capture |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-427 - NIRO EA ONR meeting |
| S40, S43 | ONR-NR-CR-19-428 - Kick Off Meeting With BEIS – Extended Phase 1 Task 2 – Scope of Regulatory Engagement on Advanced Manufacturing and Modular Construction |
Annex B -Witheld Documents in Scope of FOI202002068
| Title |
|---|
| ONR-NR-CR-18-827 - SMR Regulators Forum - Combined Steering Committee and Working Groups Meeting |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-018 - CNSC Technical Seminar on Molten Salt Chemistry Characterisation |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-023 - 3rd Meeting of the Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA) Working Group on the Safety of Advanced Reactors (WGSAR) |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-079 - BEIS CCF Workshop |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-147 - 1st IAEA Consultancy Meeting on SMR Licensing |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-225 - Consultancy Meeting on the Application of a Logical Framework to Develop Regulatory Safety Requirements for SMRs |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-275 - IAEA Technical Meeting on Structural Materials for Heavy Liquid Metal Cooled Fast Reactors |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-277- 4th Meeting of the Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA) Working Group on the Safety of Advanced Reactors (WGSAR) |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-321 - Policy Briefing on SMRs organised by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), as part of NEA Steering Committee |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-348 - SMR Regulators Forum - Combined Steering Committee and Working Group Meeting |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-357 - IAEA SMR Safety Analysis Technical Meeting |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-376 – IAEA Workshop on Regulatory Framework and Licensing for SMR Deployment |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-389 - USNRC Workshop on Non-Light Water Reactor Advanced Materials |
| ONR-NR-CR-19-412 - Second Meeting of the WENRA RHWG Working Group on Small Modular Reactors (WGSMR) |
Exemptions applied
Section 1, 27, 40(2), 41and 43
PIT (Public Interest Test) if applicable
N/A