The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Commercial Vision for Sellafield

Sellafield represents around 65% of the NDA's business and the complexities of the site mean that it must be competed as a whole to satisfy the regulators. However, the NDA and its stakeholders expect that competition will be used to bring innovation and focus on delivery into the business.

The vision for the operation of the greater Sellafield is therefore:

• a single Site Licence Company for the whole of the Sellafield Site with all the resources to be the controlling mind, the intelligent customer and have the technical competences to be responsible for:
• • safety, security and environmental compliance;
  • safety culture and training; workforce planning and development;
  • delivery of the Life Time Plan; and
  • continual improvements in performance both of itself and its contractors a number of ‘large’, Tier 2 Contractors responsible for delivery improvement in significant areas of the sites scope; and
  • traditional subcontracting approaches applied as appropriate for delivery.

This vision can be introduced gradually across the site with the approach being tailored to the particular requirements. The Windscale Site and Calder Hall provide an opportunity for early implementation of this vision. Legacy Ponds and Silos will follow on following selection of a new Parent Body Organisation (PBO).

Implications for Windscale

A natural consequence of this commercial vision is that Windscale Site become subsumed into the greater Sellafield Site.

A discussion process with stakeholders, as required by the NDA Strategy, was completed 18 September 2006. This discussion process identified a number a key points that support the commercial vision for Sellafield (as well as several that argue against it).

These responses have been taken into account in the formulation of a preferred position given below.

NDA Preferred Position for Windscale

Windscale is safely and successfully integrated into Sellafield Site Licence Company (SLC). This will involve:

• re-licensing of the Windscale site to the Sellafield SLC;
• transfer of the discharge authorisations for Windscale to the Sellafield SLC;
• majority of UKAEA employees at Windscale transferring under TUPE to the Sellafield SLC;
• UKAEA staff at Windscale identified as transferring to newly formed commerical entity UKAEA Ltd will do so;
• employment contracts for existing agency and contract supplied workers at Windscale transferring to the Sellafield SLC; and
• Sellafield SLC awarding UKAEA Ltd a contract for decommissioning activities on the Windscale Site.

Relicensing is planned for 1 April 2008. A six month period of shadow working will be required prior to re-licensing. At an appropriate time, post 1 April 2008, the Sellafield SLC will make an application to fully combine the two sites.

Failure to achieve the 1 April 2008 date will impact on UKAEA Restructuring and the Sellafield PBO Competition.