- Independent expert taskforce finds British nuclear projects are being held back by costly and complex regulation barriers
- Radical “once-in-a-generation” reform is needed to tear down barriers to faster, cheaper nuclear development, while maintaining the highest safety standards
- The government is delivering a golden age of new nuclear to create thousands of good jobs and unlock investment as part of the Plan for Change
Nuclear projects which could create skilled jobs and growth are being held back by regulatory barriers, an independent taskforce commissioned by the government has found.
In its first report published today (Monday 11 August), the taskforce says a “radical reset” is needed to speed up vital nuclear projects and encourage more companies to build in Britain, delivering a new golden age of nuclear with thousands of good jobs and investment – supporting government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.
The taskforce, announced by the Prime Minister in February and led by John Fingleton, former CEO of the Office of Fair Trading, will today publish its interim report. The findings reveal an “unnecessarily slow, inefficient and costly” system which is hampering the delivery of clean energy infrastructure needed to power Britain’s future, as well as increasing costs of the UK’s vital nuclear deterrent.
Radical, once-in-a-generation reform could transform nuclear delivery in several critical areas, while maintaining the highest safety standards. These include overly complex and inconsistent regulatory processes, risk-averse cultures that prioritise bureaucracy over proportionate safety measures, and outdated planning frameworks that fail to support new technologies like small modular reactors.
It comes after the Chancellor announced action to reduce the administrative cost of regulation by 25%.
Minister for Energy Consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh said
For too long, big British infrastructure projects have been held back by needless bureaucracy.
It’s time for a new approach to getting nuclear projects off the ground more quickly, and at a lower cost.
We look forward to working with the expert taskforce to modernise outdated regulations so we can unlock growth, jobs and energy security for the British people.
Nuclear Taskforce lead John Fingleton said
Nuclear energy is safe and reliable and can contribute to net zero goals. It is also vital to the UK’s strategic deterrent.
However, over recent decades, nuclear regulation has become more complex and costly without always delivering commensurate safety and environmental benefits.
Our interim report identifies our main concerns with the current system which we think is not fit for purpose.
With a view to recommending a once-in-a-generation reset, we now invite views from interested parties on what solutions will better enable the UK to achieve the huge benefits nuclear power offers.
The final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn. As a first step, the government will work with the taskforce to develop a new strategic direction for nuclear operators and regulators to prioritise quick, effective and safe delivery of nuclear programmes.
The government’s nuclear programme is now the most ambitious for a generation and reforms will be essential to unlock the potential of the industry. Once small modular reactors and Sizewell C come online in the 2030s, combined with Hinkley Point C, this will deliver more new nuclear to the grid than over the previous half century combined.
It follows government action earlier this year to shake up the planning rules to make it easier to build nuclear across the country – delivering cheaper clean power, energy security and jobs.
The final report’s recommendations will focus on
- tackling a culture of risk aversion and reluctance to challenge and debate, impacting costs and time, to ensure that risk management is proportionate
- addressing complex and inconsistent regulations, with processes often duplicated across multiple overlapping regulators
- an outdated planning framework that doesn’t support innovative technologies such as small and advanced modular reactors
- maintaining a range and depth of expertise across the workforce
- the potential for greater standardisation across international regulators, which could cut down complexity, costs, and delays when seeking approvals
- improving the regulatory understanding of the cost of project delays to ensure safety measures are proportionate
