Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection: October 2024
Aim of inspection
The purpose of this inspection is to gain assurance that Sellafield Ltd has made and implemented adequate assurance arrangements for its management system, established and made under LC17.
Subject(s) of inspection
- LC 17 - Management systems - Rating: GREEN
Key findings, inspector's opinions and reasons for judgement made
I undertook a Licence Condition (LC) 17 (Management System) corporate inspection at Sellafield Limited. The focus of the inspection was to gain assurance that Sellafield Limited has made and implemented adequate assurance arrangements for its management system, established and made under LC17, in relation to internal assurance and challenge. This was a follow up inspection to monitor progress following the closure of two previous regulatory issues to understand how the work has progressed and to gain confidence with the effectiveness of the arrangements.
Overall, I found that there is the basis of an assurance framework in place and that, in general, it is being delivered. A credible forward plan is in place to continue to make improvements and is being progressed as part of ‘business as usual’. However, several minor shortfalls were identified related to the content of assurance programmes and ensuring that identified weaknesses in programmes are fed back and addressed. I have provided regulatory advice over these matters. In accordance with ONR’s arrangements, I consider a rating of Green (no formal action) appropriate for this inspection.
Conclusion
Overall, I found that there is the basis of an assurance framework in place and that, in general, it is being delivered. A credible forward plan is in place to continue to make improvements and is being progressed as part of ‘business as usual’. However, several minor shortfalls were identified related to content of assurance programmes and ensuring that identified weaknesses in programmes are fed back and addressed. However, I do not consider these shortfalls require formal regulatory action; I have instead provided regulatory advice to the Enterprise Assurance Team. As a further observation, I noted that the assurance programme will not be fully effective unless it is bought into by the most senior management. In accordance with ONR’s arrangements, I consider a rating of Green (no formal action) appropriate for this inspection.
The second part of this Themed Inspection, focussing on Line 1 assurance within an operating unit, is planned for later this fiscal year.