- Date released
- 1 October 2020
- Request number
- 202009031
- Release of information under
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Information requested
Could you set out under Freedom of Information Act 2000 the following information:
- The justification and rationale for ONR ‘s Mike Finnerty participating in the Nuclear Sector Deal’s Nuclear New Build Cost Reduction workstream;
- The number of person days committed by this ONR employee to this NSD project;
- the agreement between ONR and the NSD for cost recovery for the time of Mr Finnerty’s participation in this project
and
- details of other ONR personnel involvement in other NSD projects, providing similar details to those requested in 1 to 3 above?
Information released
1) The justification and rationale for ONR ‘s Mike Finnerty participating in the Nuclear Sector Deal’s Nuclear New Build Cost Reduction workstream
I confirm that under Section 1 of the FOIA, we do not hold the information related to this part of your request.
Mr Finnerty does not directly participate in the Nuclear Sector Deal’s (NSD) Nuclear New Build Cost Reduction work stream, therefore no justification or rationale can be provided. We have provided below some additional information to help clarify our involvement; we hope this is useful.
Mr Finnerty was approached by a nuclear industry colleague to join the NSD Cost Reduction Working Group meeting on 6 March 2020. Mr Finnerty declined to attend this meeting. In the margins of some subsequent meetings with EDF as part of our routine regulatory engagement, Mr Finnerty informally discussed some of the subjects covered by the work of this group. Mr Finnerty was asked to comment on draft versions of the New Build Cost Reduction report, but declined on the basis that there was very little reference to ONR activities.
2) The number of person days committed by this ONR employee to this NSD project
I confirm that under Section 1 of the FOIA, we do not hold the information related to this part of your request.
As set out in the response to part 1 of your request above, Mr Finnerty does not directly participate in this project.
3) the agreement between ONR and the NSD for cost recovery for the time of Mr Finnerty’s participation in this project
I confirm that under Section 1 of the FOIA, we do not hold the information related to this part of your request.
There is no agreement between ONR and the NSD regarding cost recovery for the time Mr Finnerty participates in this project for the reasons we have set out above.
4) details of other ONR personnel involvement in other NSD projects, providing similar details to those requested in 1 to 3 above?
I confirm under Section 1 of the FOIA, we hold the information related to aspects of this part of your request.
An important part of ONR’s role, as set out in The Energy Act 2013 (TEA13), is to appropriately inform and advise government on the implications of policy and legislative measures that are relevant to our purposes and functions. As such, we regularly engage with government on matters relating to nuclear safety, security and safeguards. Our Strategy 2020-25 makes clear our commitment to inform government policy, and we report on our engagement each year through our annual report and accounts.
In this context, a small number of ONR staff have been involved in work which supports the NSD. The NSD makes commitments and sets objectives on behalf of government, the wider public sector and the UK nuclear industry. Therefore it is reasonable that ONR engages with, and contributes to, certain aspects of the NSD, as appropriate and in line with our role as an independent regulator so that we can bring our relevant knowledge, experience and skills to matters relating to nuclear regulation.
We have provided below the estimates of time spent by the following ONR staff on NSD groups/workstreams. As you request did not specify a time period, we have provided information covering the last 12 months. We hope this is helpful.
Nuclear Industry Council
Our Chief Executive, Adriènne Kelbie, is currently a member of the Nuclear Industry Council (NIC). The NIC is a joint forum between the nuclear industry and government, and one of its responsibilities is to oversee the delivery of the NSD. Adriènne is involved in representing a regulatory perspective as part of the NIC, and in receiving progress updates on the NSD. The terms of reference and minutes of the NIC are publicly available on the NIC website.
Legacy Cost Reduction workstream
Workstream meetings
Our Deputy Chief Inspector and Divisional Director for Sellafield, Decommissioning, Fuel and Waste, Dr Mina Golshan, receives invitations to meetings related to the Legacy Cost Reduction workstream of the NSD, although she is not a core member. These meetings have been cancelled over the past six months, and she had not attended the earlier ones.
‘Decommissioning Safety Cases’ seminar on 22 October 2019
ONR assisted in organising and facilitating a one day seminar for the NSD on ‘Decommissioning Safety Cases’ on 22 October 2019. This was attended by representatives from dutyholders and regulators. The focus of the seminar was on dutyholder governance, safety case principles, relevant good practice, regulatory proportionality and sharing lessons learnt.
We have estimated that an approximate total of 26.5 days were spent in planning, preparing and attending the event on the following basis:
1 Day Seminar – 22 October 2019
- 11x ONR inspectors who attended the seminar (assume 1.5 days per person to account for travel) = 16.5 days
- 2x Division Delivery Support (DDS) staff based in London for 2hrs attendance = 0.5 days
- 2x DDS and 1 Communications staff based in Bootle supported the running of the day (assume 1.5 days per person accounting for travel) = 4.5 days
Preparation and wrap-up
- 3x ONR inspectors and 2x DDS conducted the preparation works over a 6 month period in addition to their existing duties =5 days
This seminar was jointly hosted by ONR and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). ONR was responsible for the costs for an external facilitator. Other costs, such as the event venue and refreshments, were covered by other workstream members.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference Panel – 21 September 2020
Dr Golshan chaired a side event, titled ‘The Nuclear Sector Deal, Two Years On: Perspectives on Innovation in Cost Reduction’, on 21 September 2020 during the IAEA’s 64th General Conference. This was a panel discussion organised by BEIS to provide an update on the NSD and its key commitments to an international audience. It focused in particular on the work being undertaken to reduce the cost of new build and decommissioning projects.
Dr Golshan spent one hour chairing the session. Prior to the session, Dr Golshan spent 0.5hrs with BEIS and other participants on 16 September 2020 to test the IT system connectivity and finalising preparations for the panel discussion.
Nuclear Skills Sector Group
ONR is represented by John Male, Head of the ONR Academy, on the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG). The NSSG is tasked by the Nuclear Industry Council to lead on implementation of the “people” section of the NSD, which it does principally through its Nuclear Skills Strategic Plan to address the key requirements and risks for skills and human resources in the nuclear sector. Mr Male also chairs the ‘Exciting the Next Generation: Diversity & Attraction’ sub-group, focused on promoting STEM education and training pathways.
The NSSG meets quarterly and the sub-group meets monthly. Mr Male’s time commitment to this project is approximately 2 days per month.
All the activities set out above under points i) to iii) are not subject to charging agreements with the NSD.
Exemptions applied
N/A
PIT (Public Interest Test) if applicable
N/A