The processing of applications for replacement licences for existing licensed nuclear sites

INS/037 - Issue 1

Issue Date:: 01/09/09
Review Date:: 01/09/12
Open Government Status:: Fully open
Approved By:: R Gray

1 Purpose & Scope

1.1 This guidance informs the assessment of applications for replacement licences for sites licensed under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended). It covers the relicensing of nuclear sites which are privately owned and operated and also those which are operated by a civilian contractor on behalf of a government department or agency. This includes sites operated by a Site Licensee Company (SLC) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence or the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Parallel guidance in INS/036 deals with the licensing of new nuclear sites.

Responsibilities

1.2 The ND Licensing Unit will take the lead in coordinating the licensing process. The licensing project assessment report (PAR) will be prepared by the Licensing Unit with input from the nominated site inspector. OCNS should be briefed on the project and will assess whether there are any security implications. The PAR will refer out to, and summarise the findings from, specialist assessment project reports dealing with issues underpinning a recommendation to grant a nuclear site licence, such as assessment of the safety management prospectus or the Nuclear Baseline. The Licensing Unit will liaise with the Treasury Solicitor's Department and other regulators as required by the particular project and will draft and prepare the nuclear site licence.

Background

1.3 Before HSE can grant a replacement nuclear site licence it must consider whether the licence applicant meets the requirements laid down in the NI Act, can satisfy HSE's policies on nuclear site licensing, and is able to comply with the conditions which will be attached to the licence. In reaching a decision to grant a licence HSE must consider all relevant facts and disregard any irrelevant information (see the Treasury Solicitor's leaflet 'The Judge Over Your Shoulder' for guidance on this and other legal aspects of exercising HSE's licensing powers. Also 'The Judge Over HSE's Shoulder').

1.4 A nuclear site licence must:

be legally correct;
be granted to the primary user of the site;
clearly define the site and the licensable installation(s); and
have attached to it the appropriate conditions.

1.5 Consideration of an application for a nuclear site licence will lead to the submission to HM Chief Inspector of a site-specific licensing project assessment report (PAR) with a joint recommendation by the nominated site inspector and ND's Licensing Unit on the granting of the new licence.

2 Legal and Policy Basis

2.1 Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended) [NI Act], sections 1 and 3 to 6, and the Nuclear Installations Regulations 1971 (S.I. 1971/381).

2.2 HSE's licensing policies are summarised in 'The Licensing of Nuclear Installations'

3 Need for relicensing

3.1 A replacement licence will be needed when there is to be a material change to the basis on which the current nuclear site licence was granted, that is:

where there is to be a change in licensee, since NIA65 s.3(1) precludes nuclear site licences being transferred between bodies corporate;
if the licensee wishes to install and operate a type of prescribed installation which is not covered by Part 2 of Schedule 1 to its current licence; or
for an increase in the area of the licensed site. N.B. Section 3(6) of NIA65 provides for the Variation of a nuclear site licence to exclude part or parts of a site if certain criteria are satisfied. However there is no parallel power to vary the licence to enlarge a licensed site.

3.2 Where the need for a new licence is foreseen the matter should be brought to the attention of the head of ND's Licensing, Leadership and Managing for Safety Unit who will arrange for the co-ordination of the licensing process.

4 The Licence Application

4.1 The applicant must submit a written application to HSE, supported by sufficient information to enable ND to assess the prospective licensee and to assess the potential impact of any proposed changes to the site boundary or activities on the site. Evidence required in support of an application may include, as necessary:

a safety management prospectus (this could comprise a suite of documents rather than a single volume);
a brief description of the installation and activities to be licensed;
confirmation that the types of activities undertaken at the site are deemed "justified" in the context of the Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiations Regulations;
a map of the site;
details of the ownership of the site and the proposed arrangements for achieving security of tenure for the licensee; and
where there is to be a change of the licensed corporate body, the terms of reference for the new Nuclear Safety Committee.

4.2 Following an initial assessment by ND's Licensing Unit and the site inspector an estimate will be made of the timescale for completion of the licensing process, taking into account the involvement of other regulatory bodies such as the environment agencies and any need for public body notification.

5 The assessment process

5.1 The relicensing process requires the assessment of the applicant's case for a replacement nuclear site licence. The provisions of NIA65 mean that licences are granted for specific sites and consequently ND must review licence applications on a site by site basis. However where an applicant is seeking replacement licences simultaneously for two or more sites ND will consider the scope for generic assessment of corporate issues, such as the safety management prospectus, with a view to minimising the burden on the applicant and the regulator.

5.2 In accordance with HSC/E policy on proportionate regulation the main assessment effort will be focused on those areas where changes are taking place or which are problematic for other reasons.

5.3 Consideration of an application will follow ND's normal approach to making regulatory decisions: ND assesses and inspects on a sample basis, involving the Nuclear Safety Policy Division where appropriate on policy matters and on issues requiring liaison with OGDs. The assistance of the Treasury Solicitor will be sought on legal issues arising, and in reviewing property leases, draft operating contracts, licensing documentation etc.

5.4 If there is to be a change of licensee, or a material change in the licence applicant's organisational structure, plant or processes, a systematic review of the impact of the proposed changes on the safety arrangements for the site will be required. In these cases it may be appropriate to undertake a team inspection or other topic related inspection.

5.5 Where the change is less significant in its impact on nuclear safety (e.g. where relicensing is required to effect a minor change to the site boundary) it may be adequate to draw on the results of routine inspections regarding the adequacy of licence condition compliance arrangements.

5.6 The views of formal consultees may also be taken into consideration, in particular in determining whether there is a case for additional site specific licence conditions to supplement the standard licence (see INS/034 on the notification of public bodies of an application for a nuclear site licence).

5.7 The NI Act empowers HSE to grant a nuclear site licence to a named corporate body, for specified prescribed activities on a defined site. Therefore HSE approaches the assessment of licence applications within three corresponding areas: the organisation (of the incumbent licensee or of the licence applicant where there is to be a change of operator), the activities and the location. Each is considered separately below.

6 The Licensee

6.1 The NI Act, s.3(1) provides that a nuclear site licence shall not be granted to any person other than a corporate body and shall not be transferable. A commentary published by the Ministry of Power on the equivalent section in the 1959 NI Act explains the reasons for this provision. In a reference to the potential for a corporate body to go into liquidation the commentary confirms the licensing authority's legitimate interest in organisational issues by stating that: '...the Minister, before granting the licence, would be careful to satisfy himself about the soundness of the applicant's business'. It goes on to state that the 'licence is not transferable because the Minister must be satisfied in each case that the corporation in question is fit to install or operate nuclear plant on the site'.

6.2 Although a licence is not transferable the responsibility for the operation of a site can effectively be transferred to a different corporate body via the granting of a replacement licence.

Dual and joint licensing

6.3 Where two or more companies are involved in prescribed operations at a site it is possible that each may be deemed to be 'users of the site' for purposes requiring a nuclear site licence. There is nothing in law to preclude this. However section 4(6) of NIA65 places an absolute responsibility upon the holder of the nuclear site licence. It provides that in the event of a breach of a licence condition 'the licensee and any person having duties upon the site in question by whom that contravention was committed' is guilty of an offence. Hence even if the breach is committed by a tenant or a contractor the licensee is guilty. The holder of the nuclear site licence also has an absolute, no-fault financial liability under the insurance provisions of NIA 65 for injury to persons or damage to property.

6.4 Against this background it is essential there is clarity as to which body has primary responsibility for the safe operation of a licensed site and the attendant liability. The licensee should be in a position to exercise effective day to day control over activities on the site, whether undertaken by its own people, by contractors or by tenants. Therefore HSE will seek to avoid granting two or more licences for the same site (dual licensing) or the grant of a single licence jointly to two or more corporate bodies (joint licensing).

A licensable organisation

6.5 Through assessment of the applicant's submission and other relevant information, such as the outcomes of routine or team inspections, HSE should satisfy itself that the applicant will:

be the primary user of the site, with appropriate security of tenure and rights of access;
be in day-to-day control of nuclear activities on the site; and
have sufficient capability to meet operational safety demands and to discharge its wider obligations as a nuclear site licensee.

Safety Management Prospectus and Nuclear Baseline

6.6 The primary responsibility for the safety of a nuclear installation is placed on the licensee by the NI Act, within the framework provided by HSWA. Before granting a licence the Executive must be satisfied that the applicant is a corporate person which will be using the site for licensable activities and has adequate management structures, capability and resources to discharge the obligations and liabilities associated with holding a nuclear site licence. The type of organisation and level of resource needs to be commensurate with the risk.

6.7 HSE expects an applicant to develop and maintain a safety management prospectus (smp) demonstrating its commitment to health and safety. The prospectus is that part of a licensee's safety case which deals with safety management issues; it may consist of a single document or a suite of documents. The prospectus should provide a clear statement about the company, its structure and how it proposes to operate. Further guidance is available in T/AST/072 'Function and Content of a Safety Management Prospectus'

6.8 The smp should be complemented by an adequate and up to date Nuclear Baseline. The principal purpose of the Nuclear Baseline is to provide a demonstration that the licensee has suitable and sufficient organisational structures, staffing and competences in place to effectively and reliably carry out those activities which could impact on nuclear safety. See T/AST/065 'Function and Content of the Nuclear Baseline'.

6.9 The licensee must continue to maintain licensing requirements throughout the duration of the licence and so it follows that it must keep the safety management prospectus and the Nuclear Baseline under review and revise them when significant changes occur.

Relationship between a holding company and a licensed subsidiary

6.10 There will be situations where the company applying for a nuclear site licence is owned by another company or companies. In such circumstances the parent company is likely to exercise a strategic role involving some oversight and monitoring of its subsidiary. However, this must neither be detrimental to safety nor impinge on the licensee's legal responsibilities. For example:

the parent company should not usurp the licensee's authority over the day-to-day operation of the licensable installations;
the licensee must have authority to operate in a manner that maintains safety (e.g. it must have the autonomy to shutdown or stop operations for safety reasons without recourse to the parent company);
the strategic control of funding and other resources exercised by a parent company should not impede a licensee's access to adequate funds to meet its safety obligations, including decommissioning;
the parent company must not divert or dilute the technical skills and experience available to the licensee at the grant of licence without devising agreed alternatives.

6.11 The parent company should continue to recognise, understand and support the case presented to HSE for the purpose of licensing the site operated by the subsidiary. If any significant changes affecting this case are proposed then these must be agreed by HSE prior to their implementation.

Role and Duties of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

6.12 The NDA owns 17 licensed nuclear sites and is responsible for an 18th, Harwell, which it holds under a lease granted by UKAEA NDPB. In practice the site is sub-let by the NDA to the Site Licensee Company, Research Sites Restoration Ltd. The NDA also owns the assets and liabilities on the sites designated to it, including Harwell, and secures and disburses the funding required to fulfil its responsibilities. The NDA contracts with the Site Licensee Companies which operate the sites to implement its strategies, programmes and projects. Consequently it is important for inspectors to be aware of the role of the NDA in managing its portfolio and its resulting duties under HSWA and subsidiary legislation including NIA65. Details are provided in Annex 1 to this guide.

7 Activities

Justification

7.1 Justification is a principle of radiation protection embodied in successive Basic Safety Standards Directives, most recently Council Directive 96/29 Euratom

It requires the UK Government to ensure that the benefits of using ionising radiations in a particular situation outweigh the health detriment that may be caused. The requirements for justification are translated into UK statute by the Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004. Guidance on the application and administration of the regulations is available on the DEFRA website. Justification is a matter for Government, is determined by Ministers and it applies to types of practices (i.e. it is not site-specific).

7.2 Licence applicants should indicate whether there exists a Government decision on the Justification of the types of activity which are, or are to be, undertaken at the site.

Licensable installation

7.3 HSE's power to grant licences is limited to the use of a site for the purpose of installing or operating a nuclear reactor (as defined in the NI Act) and any other installation prescribed in the Nuclear Installations Regulations 1971.

7.4 Where an application involves the creation of new installations at the site, or a change in the activities undertaken in existing facilities, it will be necessary to consider whether any modification is needed to the descriptors used in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the site licence. A change of use of the site may also necessitate public body notification (paras 9.3 to 9.5).

Safety cases

7.5 Primary responsibility for the safe operation of a nuclear installation rests with the licensee. The licensee must demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of the technical issues involved via the safety case. Regardless of the outside resources used to produce it, and irrespective of the country of origin of the plant design, the safety case must be demonstrably understood and 'owned' by the licensee.

7.6 ND will assess any new safety cases submitted in support of the application in accordance with its established procedures (see AST/003). The site inspector will be able to comment on the adequacy of existing safety cases.

Licence condition compliance

7.7 The extent of HSE's assessment or inspection of the adequacy of a licence applicant's proposed arrangements will depend on the nature of the change giving rise to the need for a replacement licence. In many instances the applicant will want existing compliance arrangements to be carried forward unchanged to the new licence, and any proposals to make changes subsequently can be handled as normal business. If a team inspection of compliance arrangements is not deemed necessary it will be sufficient to draw on the evidence provided by previous site inspection reports.

7.8 Minor shortcomings in a licensee's arrangements do not necessarily preclude the grant of a licence, providing that the site inspector believes the deficiencies can be resolved through normal regulatory activity after the grant of the licence.

Decommissioning arrangements

7.9 The licensing PAR should outline briefly the status of the decommissioning strategy and plan for the site as HSE would need to seek improvements if they were deemed inadequate as the basis for granting a new licence. The site inspector should therefore review the position and provide an appropriate input to the PAR, referring as necessary to:

the findings of the most recent quinquennial review conducted by HSE in accordance with the White Paper "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy" (Cm.2919; see also the Government's statement 'The Decommissioning of the UK Nuclear Industry's Facilities');
the detailed decommissioning plan and programme produced in accordance with Licence Condition 35.

7.10 In addition, for Government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) sites such as AWE and the NDA managed sites the contracting authority should be asked to confirm that sufficient funding will be made available to the licensee to enable it to fulfil its obligations under the nuclear site licence and, in particular, to deliver the decommissioning plan approved under LC35.

8 Location

HSE policy on security of tenure

8.1 It is HSE's policy to ensure that a nuclear licensee has rights of access to, and control of, its site conducive to the fulfillment of its obligations under NIA 65 and the conditions attached to the site licence. HSE requires evidence of security of tenure to show that sufficient consideration has been given to this issue. Where the licensee does not own the freehold of the site such evidence normally consists of a lease or some other legally binding contract or documentation setting out the relationship between the licensee and the owner of the site.

8.2 ND should review, with the assistance of the Treasury Solicitor, the legal documentation to ensure that it provides the applicant with the required levels of control and access. Where a new lease or a land transfer is being negotiated to form part of the licensing basis it may be necessary to ensure that it will take effect at the same date and time that the new nuclear site licence comes into force.

The site boundary and map

8.3 The boundary of the licensed site must encompass the licensable activities. It is important that no doubt exists in the definition of the licensed site. The boundary should be obvious and permanent and avoid, so far as is practicable, passing across water, through a building or being 3-dimensional.

8.4 The nuclear site licence will define the licensed site boundary by reference to a map submitted by the licence applicant. The map to be attached to the site licence should:

be produced on A3 paper;
have the scale and Ordnance Survey grid lines clearly marked;
cover the whole of the licensed site and identify its boundary in colour (usually red);
carry an unambiguous licensee's drawing reference and revision number;
be clearly titled and dated;
provide an Ordnance Survey grid reference (in the form AB 123456) for a significant point on the site or its boundary; and
show grid north, preferably using a rose-cross type identifier.

8.5 The aim should be to define the site clearly so there can be no doubt as to its limit. This will assist in the application of the nuclear site licence conditions and in establishing the extent of a licensee's absolute liability for occurrences on a site.

8.6 Copies of nuclear site licences are provided to the Department of Energy and Climate Change and to certain other public bodies such as the environment agencies. The maps attached to the licences may be used by DECC to fulfil its obligations to maintain a publicly-available list of licensed nuclear sites, including a map or maps showing the position and limits of each site (see NIA65 s.6). Consequently the licence applicant should consider security implications when determining the level of detail of the installations on the site to be represented on the site map. The applicant may wish to seek advice from the Office of Civil Nuclear Security on this point (the Ministry of Defence for defence related sites).

Delicensed Areas

8.7 Any person who may have suffered harm as a consequence of activities on a licensed nuclear site is entitled to claim compensation for up to 30 years after the ending of the period of responsibility (see NIA65 s.15). Consequently any area(s) of a licensed site which are to be delicensed through the grant of the new licence, or which have previously been delicensed (whether through a licence Variation under Section 3(6) of NIA 65 or through an earlier relicensing) should remain identifiable over that period. This should be achieved by separately delineating the area delicensed, for example by marking the boundary of that area in green.

Verification

8.8 The site inspector should walk the proposed boundary of the nuclear licensed site to verify that the map provided by the applicant for attachment to the licence accurately represents the physical boundary. The Ordnance Survey grid reference of the significant point on the site shown on the map (see 8.4(f) above) will be checked by the ND Licensing Section.

Consents under condition 3 - leases, etc.

8.9 An LC 3 Consent is not necessary for a new lease or property licence where it forms part of the basis on which a new licence is to be granted (e.g. where relicensing is necessitated by a restructuring which involves the creation of a subsidiary or sister company which will be a tenant on the site). Any new leases etc should be reviewed in accordance with the guidance in BMS/INS/003, involving the Treasury Solicitor as necessary.

8.10 If pre-existing leases, property licences etc. are to be carried forward to the new licence a list of current leases should be resubmitted by the licence applicant for checking against ND's records. This is to ensure that all transactions are covered by either an LC3 Consent or a 'deemed' consent (i.e. where a lease was accepted as part of the licensing basis on which a previous nuclear site licence was granted).

9 Consultation and notification

Environment Agency / Scottish Environment Protection Agency

9.1 The Environment Act 1995 (EA Act) introduced into NI Act, at s.3(1A), a statutory obligation on HSE to consult the appropriate Agency before granting or revoking a licence. The application of this statutory requirement is through arrangements set out in Memoranda of Understanding with the environment agencies.

9.2 ND's Licensing Unit will consult the appropriate environment agency to seek confirmation that it has no objection to the granting of a new licence and, if relevant, the revocation of the existing one. Information will also be sought on the Agency's intention to issue new Authorisations under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 for the disposal of radioactive wastes. This will assist in any necessary co-ordination between the regulatory bodies in the timing of the grant of a nuclear site licence and the issue of waste disposal authorisations

Public body notification

9.3 HSE has a discretionary power under the NI Act to Direct a licence applicant to serve notice on certain public bodies local to the site in question. The intention of public body notification is to ensure that relevant local public bodies have an opportunity to comment and to suggest anything which, from the point of view of their own statutory responsibilities, ought to be provided for in the conditions attached to the licence. In deciding whether to Direct an applicant to undertake public body notification the key factors considered by HSE are:

the extent of the change associated with the application and the safety implications;
the related impact on local public bodies' duties and activities associated with a site; and
consistency with previous use of HSE's discretionary powers.

9.4 ND's Licensing Unit will determine whether the discretionary power should be invoked in each case. Where public body notification is required the Licensing Section will follow the procedure set out in INS/034.

9.5 When the power is invoked HSE will require the applicant to provide specified bodies with details of the proposed development and will allow those bodies up to 3 months to submit comments to HSE. Such bodies include local authorities, emergency services, river authorities, fisheries committees, statutory water undertakings and other public or local authorities. Public body notification will be undertaken in parallel with the assessment of a licensee's case for a nuclear site licence.

Rights & obligations of other public bodies

9.6 HSE has neither the vires nor the competence to assess the financial standing of licence applicants. However the granting of a nuclear site licence has the potential to create obligations on other government departments (OGDs) should the licensee fail financially. For example, under the relevant international conventions the government is the funder of last resort for nuclear decommissioning and waste management. Consequently in each case ND will consider whether it would be appropriate to:

write to government departments and NDPBs which may have financial liabilities or other legal duties placed upon them by the granting of a nuclear site licence, and
invite the consultees to draw to the attention of HSE any issues associated with their own rights and obligations which need to be considered before a licence is granted.

9.7 The consultees will be selected as appropriate to the particular case from DECC, BIS, the Scottish Executive, the NDA and the MoD by the Head of the ND Licensing Section. Although HSE will give due consideration to any responses received the final decision on whether to grant a nuclear site licence, and on the conditions to be attached to it, remains with the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations. It is important that the consultation process does not fetter HSE's discretion.

Nuclear Liability Insurance

9.8 The NI Act places an absolute liability upon the licensee as regards injury to persons or damage to property arising from a nuclear occurrence without proof of fault on the licensee's part. Section 19(1) of the NI Act requires that a nuclear site licensee must make provision (by insurance or otherwise) for cover to meet third party claims within the limits prescribed in the Act. This provision is not enforceable by HSE but is the responsibility of DECC for England and Wales, and Scottish Ministers for Scotland. This is one of the Ministerial functions under the NI Act which were transferred, in so far as they are exercisable in or as regards Scotland, to the Scottish Ministers by the Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 1999, SI 1999/1750, art 2, Sch 1. The Minister is required to approve the licence applicant's arrangements, whether by insurance or other approved means, to meet third party claims within the limits prescribed in the Act. It is understood that DECC / SE will only need to review insurance cover for a new nuclear site, a new licensee, or when a site changes its status (i.e. is subject to a different financial limit under the Nuclear Installations (Prescribed Sites) Regulations 1983, which were made under section 16(1) of NIA65). For the AWE sites indemnification to cover third party liability is provided through the Ministry of Defence.

9.9 Whilst HSE is not the enforcing authority for the insurance aspects of NIA65 it would not want to create a situation in which the licensee was made criminally liable under NIA65 s.19(5) as soon as the licence came into force, due to lack of indemnity cover. Consequently this issue should be addressed using the process described in paragraphs 9.6 to 9.7above.

Energy Act Transfer Schemes

9.10 Where the relicensing of an NDA site is linked to the implementation of a Transfer Scheme made under the Energy Act 2004 the NDA should be required to confirm that the Transfer Scheme will be signed by the Minister in time to take effect coincident with the coming into force of the new nuclear site licence(s).

10 Documenting the Project and Producing the Licence

10.1 Relicensing is a key milestone in the lifecycle of a nuclear site and HSE's decision may be subject to public and political scrutiny. It is essential that the factors considered in reaching the decision are adequately documented and that the processes employed cover all the necessary issues. These will include:

setting up a TRIM folder for the relicensing project plus a hybrid folder into which should be placed hard copies of any reports, plans etc supporting the recommendation to grant the new licence. In due course the hybrid folder containing the licensing PAR and the associated supporting evidence will be submitted to the Chief Inspector as the basis for the decision to grant the replacement licence;
preparation, jointly, by the nominated site inspector and the licensing manager in Unit 3F, of a site-specific licensing PAR;
the drafting of the new licence and the revocation of the old licence. See Annex 2 for guidance on the structure of the licence and the wording of key clauses, including the mechanism for carrying forward extant licence instruments;
quality assurance of the draft licence. Internally this will involve clearing the licence drafted by the licensing manager with the site inspector, the relevant Superintending Inspector and the Treasury Solicitor. It is also customary to send a copy to the applicant's Company Secretary, and its nominated project manager, inviting them to check the draft for factual accuracy;
where there is to be a change of operator, arrangements for Approval of Nuclear Safety Committee Terms of Reference and Approval of Emergency Arrangements. See Annex 3.

11 Decision

11.1 HM Chief Inspector, or a delegated Deputy Chief Inspector, will consider all the evidence and the recommendation in the site-specific licensing project report before making a decision on the acceptability of the applicant's case.

11.2 Where HM Chief Inspector identifies unresolved issues the site inspector will inform the applicant which will be given an opportunity to amend its application. Amendments to an application will be assessed in accordance with this procedure and guidance.

11.3 When satisfied that the application is in order the Chief Inspector / delegated DCI will sign the licence and any associated revocation.

11.4 If an ongoing dialogue has been maintained with the applicant throughout the assessment process it is unlikely that an unacceptable application will reach the stage of being submitted to the Chief Inspector for a decision; normally any outstanding issues will have been resolved by a process of iteration. However if the issues cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the ND Licensing Unit and the relevant site inspection unit the project assessment report should recommend rejection and should be put forward to the Chief Inspector for a final decision. Rejection should be notified immediately to the licence applicant in writing.

11.5 The Health and Safety at Work Act excludes (at section 44) a statutory right of appeal against nuclear licensing decisions. However the applicant may seek a review by HSE of the process by which the licensing decision was reached.

12 Charging

12.1 Liaison with ND's Planning, Performance and Finance Unit (PPFU) should be maintained throughout the relicensing process to ensure staff effort is accurately recorded as a basis for recovering HSE's costs.

12.2 Where an existing site is to be relicensed to a different corporate body the work done by HSE in providing advice to the prospective applicant prior to submission of its application can be charged for under the Health and Safety Fees Regulations.

12.3 NIA Section 24A enables HSE to recover its regulatory costs from licence applicants as well as from holders of nuclear site licences. Consequently, following receipt of the licence application the charges for assessing and processing a licence application - whether from the incumbent or a new operator - should be levied under the NI Act.

12.4 If the licence applicant wishes to have a more detailed breakdown of the cost of processing the application, or if it wants the cost of relicensing to be distinguishable from ongoing regulatory charges, the Licensing Unit will agree with PPFU whether a work recording sub-number should be created.

12.5 At the completion of the relicensing process PPFU should be notified of the date the new licence(s) came into force.

13 Associated documents

Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended)

The Nuclear Installations Regulations 1971 (SI 1971/381)

'The Licensing of Nuclear Installations'

Memorandum of Understanding between (i) the Health and Safety Executive and (ii) the Environment Agency on matters of mutual concern at licensed nuclear sites in England and Wales

Memorandum of Understanding between (i) the Health and Safety Executive and (ii) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on matters of mutual concern at licensed nuclear sites in Scotland

Notes on the Nuclear Installations Act 1959, Ministry of Power

Treasury Solicitor's leaflet 'The Judge Over Your Shoulder'

'The Judge Over HSE's Shoulder'

Council Directive 96/29 Euratom

The Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1769)

The Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004, Guidance on their application and administration (version May 2008)

Licensing Procedure INS/036: The Processing of Licence Applications for New Nuclear Sites

T/AST/072: Function and Content of a Safety Management Prospectus

T/AST/065: Function and Content of the Nuclear Baseline

Annex 1

Role and duties of the NDA

NDA's Remit

A1.1 The NDA was created by the Energy Act 2004. The NDA is a corporate body and an employer. According to the Energy Act:

"(1) The principal function of the NDA shall be to have responsibility for securing:

the operation, pending the commencement of their decommissioning, of designated nuclear installations;
the decommissioning of those and other designated installations;
the cleaning-up of designated nuclear sites;
the operation of designated facilities for treating, storing, transporting or disposing of hazardous material;
the treatment, storage, transportation and disposal, in designated circumstances, of hazardous material; and
the decommissioning of designated installations comprised in NDA facilities."

A1.2 Other key provisions of the Energy Act include:

section 1(2): "The NDA is not to be treated... (b) as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown." ;
s.10(1): "The NDA shall have power, for the purpose of carrying out its functions, to do all such things as appears to it to be likely to facilitate the carrying out of its functions, or to be incidental to carrying them out."
s.10(2): "The powers of the NDA include... (b) power to apply for and hold nuclear site licences ..."
s.9(1): "It shall be the duty of the NDA, in carrying out its functions, to have particular regard to.... (c) the need to protect persons from risks to their health and safety from activities involving the use, treatment, storage, transportation or disposal of hazardous material;
s.9(2): "It shall also be the duty of the NDA... (b) to promote effective competition for contracts to provide it with the services it must secure in order to discharge its responsibilities; ..."
Schedule 2 s.4(1) and 4(2): "Before (a) preparing a strategy (b)revising a strategy in a manner requiring approval, or (c)submitting a strategy to have the approval of the strategy renewed, the NDA must consult ...the HSE..."
Schedule 3 s.2(1): "Before preparing or revising a [annual] plan the NDA must consult HSE"

Section 18 gives the NDA powers to issue directions to installations or sites on a range of issues including requiring the carrying out of specified decommissioning or clean up work or to be operated or managed in a specified manner. However such a direction "cannot authorise a contravention in relation to any installation, site or facility of any obligation to which the person with control of it is subject by or under an enactment."

A1.3 The NDA owns 17 licensed nuclear sites; and is responsible for an 18th (Harwell) which is 'occupied' by NDA under a lease granted to it by the UKAEA NDPB¹. The NDA also owns the assets and liabilities on the sites designated to it, including Harwell, and secures and disburses the funding required to fulfil its responsibilities. The NDA is also responsible for oversight of British Energy's planning for and decommissioning of its nuclear power stations.

A1.4 The NDA has published a set of guiding principles in managing the risks inherent with its programme;

completing the work to the highest environmental, security and safety standards
achieving best value for money consistent with those standards;
operating with openness and transparency; and
developing competitive markets for decommissioning and clean-up contracts, driving
innovation and ensuring the best possible use of available skills.

The NDA Contract Model

A1.5 Although it has the vires to hold nuclear site licences, the NDA's strategy is to secure the fulfilment of its responsibilities by contracting out the operation of the sites to the Site Licensee Companies (SLCs). The NDA's chosen contracting model also involves the appointment, via a Parent Body Agreement (PBA), of a Parent Body Organisation (PBO)to provide management and direction to each SLC.

A1.6 In principle the NDA is the enduring owner of the SLCs. However ownership of an SLC's shares is transferred to its PBO for the duration of the latter's PBA. PBO nominees are seconded to the SLC for the duration of the PBA to provide the required strategic direction and oversight.

A1.7 In more detail, the NDA's contract strategy is implemented as follows²:

NDA agrees a 'Management and Operations' (M&O) contract with the incumbent Site Licensee Company (SLC) for the delivery of the Near Term Work Plan for each site, within the context of its Lifetime Plan. This is known as a Tier 1 contract;
the SLC is the enduring entity which employs the majority of operational personnel on the site, and which contains sufficient core skills and intelligent customer capability to run the site safely if the PBO withdraws for any reason and to comply with its duties as a nuclear site licence holder. The SLC is responsible for letting Tier 2 contracts to sub-contractors engaged to undertake activities on its site(s);
to facilitate competitive tendering the NDA's sites have been reconfigured into bundles which the NDA believed could be operated coherently and cost-effectively. Those bundles vary from single sites, for example Dounreay, to groups of similar sites: Magnox South SLC consists of five decommissioning Magnox sites;
in accordance with the duty placed on it by s.9(2) of the Energy Act, the NDA is seeking to stimulate competition and create a market in decommissioning. A key element of its competition strategy is to invite bids for contracts to provide management input to individual SLCs;
the successful bidder - the Parent Body Organisation (PBO) - enters into an agreement with the NDA, known as the Parent Body Agreement (PBA), whereby the NDA gives the PBO all the shares in that SLC for the duration of the PBA. The PBA enables the PBO to draw up dividends from the SLC, based on the fees that the SLC earns from the NDA through its M&O contract;
a 'typical' PBO may be a special purpose company created by a consortium of firms with relevant skills and experience. However, whatever groupings of sites emerge the M&O contracts for site operation will continue to be between the NDA and the SLCs;
the SLC will continue to occupy its site(s) and manage operations on a day to day basis but with members of its board and possibly some other senior managers and technical staff seconded into it by the PBO;

SLC directors nominated by the PBO are part of the SLC corporate body and have duties to it under the Companies Act. These directors can be from both the PBO and elsewhere. Other PBO nominees may be seconded into 'lead team' positions in the SLC. Providing the terms of the secondment are appropriate those secondees effectively have contracts of employment with the SLC and thereby become 'employees' of the SLC for the purposes of HSWA (See the 'Status of Workers' and 'Contracts of Employment' sections of the HSE Enforcement Guide

A1.8 The contract arrangement can be represented as follows:

Image of the contract arrangement

NDA Contract Model

A1.9 NDA has published guidance on its web site regarding the function and capabilities of the SLCs and the role of the PBOs.

A1.10 To enable it to implement its strategy for the sites the NDA has established and developed competence in a number of areas, including:

SLC-facing operational and programme directorates comprised of contracts managers who monitor SLC performance on site to ensure that contract requirements are being delivered, sanction expenditure and exercise change control;
a Nuclear Safety Security and Environment Directorate (NSSED) which monitors the NSSE performance of the SLCs in order to provide independent assurance to the NDA's Board that they are meeting their obligations to operate safely, securely and with due regard to environmental protection;
an Engineering Directorate whose functions include assessment and acceptance of the Lifetime Plans and Near-Term Workplans developed by SLCs, engineering validation of SLC proposals for specific projects (NDA will challenge proposals if it is not satisfied that the SLC has adequately justified them), and oversight of research used to support decommissioning and cleanup;
a Radioactive Waste Management Directorate, which incorporates the functions and personnel formerly comprising NIREX Ltd and which is taking forward Government policy on the development of a deep geological repository;
a Strategy Directorate and a Legal Directorate

The NDA is therefore well equipped to understand the significance of its interactions with SLCs in all these areas and discharge its duties accordingly.

The NDA's Duties Under HSWA

A1.11 The NDA is an employer conducting an undertaking whose primary functions encompass the operation and decommissioning of prescribed installations on licensed nuclear sites, and the processing and management of hazardous material including nuclear wastes. It owns licensed sites and the assets and liabilities on those sites. So, in addition to its responsibilities to its own employees under HSWA s.2 and the RSPs³, it has duties under HSWA s.3 and s.4 to persons who are not their employees. HSWA s.36 could also be applicable.

HSWA s.3(1): "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety".

HSWA s.4(2): "It shall be the duty of each person [e.g. the NDA] who has, to any extent, control of premises to which this section applies or of the means of access thereto or egress therefrom or of any plant or substance in such premises to take such measures as it is reasonably practicable for a person in his position to take to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the premises, all means of access thereto or egress therefrom available for use by persons using the premises, and any plant or substance in the premises or, as the case may be, provided for use there, is or are safe and without risks to health."

HSWA s.36(1): "Where the commission by any person [e.g. an SLC] of an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions is due to the act or default of some other person [e.g. the NDA], that other person shall be guilty of an offence, and a person may be charged with and convicted of the offence by virtue of this subsection whether or not proceedings are taken against the first -mentioned person."

A1.12 One of the most significant decided cases on the extent of an employer's duties under HSWA s.3 is R v Associated Octel. As was made clear in that case, section 3 imposes a duty upon the employer himself. That duty is defined by a reference to a certain kind of activity, namely, the conduct by the employer of his undertaking. It is indifferent to the nature of the contractual relationships by which the employer chooses to conduct it nor would it be sufficient for other parties under the NDA's contract model, such as the PBO and NDA to rely on the duty on the SLC under the NIA. HSWA requires more than that in that they are required to do what is reasonably practicable.

"....The employer is under a duty under HSWA s.3(1) if it forms part of his undertaking. The question of whether an employer may leave an independent contractor to do the work as he thinks fit depends upon whether having the work done forms part of the employer's undertaking. If it does he owes a duty under section 3(1) to ensure that it is done without risk - subject of course to reasonably practicability... [R v Associated Octel [1994] 4 All ER 1051]

A1.13 What is reasonably practicable will have to be determined on a case by case basis and as the Court also made clear, the question of whether a particular activity forms part of the duty holder's undertaking is a question of fact. Hence it is perfectly legitimate for the NDA to choose to exercise a significant degree of direction and oversight of its contractors, the SLCs. The extent of that oversight and direction is a matter for the NDA to determine: "A (legal) person conducting his own undertaking is free to decide how he will do so." [R v Associated Octel [1994] 4 All ER 1051]

A1.14 However it is clear that the more involved the NDA becomes in the way the site is managed the more will be expected of it to meet its duties under HSWA. Clearly goal setting legislation cannot provide prescriptive definitions as to what might be required of the NDA.

Annex 2

Drafting the Nuclear Site Licence

The ND Licensing Unit will prepare the replacement licence which will be comprised of the licence document itself and three or four Schedules, as follows:

The Licence

(a) An opening paragraph setting out the powers under which HSE is granting the licence, defining the corporate body to which the licence is being granted, and referencing Schedule 1 to the licence, e.g.:

1. The Health and Safety Executive, in pursuance of sections 1(1), 4(1) and 4(2) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended), hereby licenses AWE plc, a company registered in England and Wales under number 2763902 (hereinafter referred to as "the licensee") whose Registered Office is at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire RG7 4PR, to use the site described in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to this licence (hereinafter referred to as "the site") for the purpose of installing and operating the nuclear installations described in Part 2 of that Schedule.

(b) A paragraph referencing the licence schedule containing the licence conditions:

2. This licence is granted subject to the conditions contained in Schedule 2 hereto.

(c) where a replacement licence is being granted to the incumbent licensee, a paragraph revoking the existing licence, e.g.:

3. The Health and Safety Executive, in pursuance of section 5(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended), hereby revokes the nuclear site licence granted to the licensee in respect of the site of the Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield on 29 March 2000. The revocation of nuclear site licence 78 shall take effect immediately prior to the coming into force of this licence.

N.B. If the site is being relicensed to a new operator this paragraph will be omitted and a separate revocation will be required in the name of the outgoing licensee. An example is shown in Appendix 1 to this Annex.

(d) Where a site is being relicensed to the incumbent licensee the extant licence instruments can be carried forward from the old to the new licences (thus reducing the administrative burden on the nominated site inspector). For Directions and Approvals this is achieved by including the following paragraph in the licence:

4. Insofar as any approval or direction was given or made under previous licences of the site and is specified in Schedule 3 to this licence and could now be given or made under the condition attached to this licence which is specified in the last column of Schedule 3 on the same line as the number of the original approval or direction, that approval or direction shall not be invalidated by the revocation effected by paragraph 3 hereof* / of licence...*⁴ but shall have effect for the purpose of this licence as if it had been given or made under such condition.

N.B. Only Directions or Approvals specifically listed in the Schedule 3 are carried forward. An example of a Schedule 3 is attached at Appendix 3 to this Annex. For other licence instruments there is a second standard paragraph which says:

5. Insofar as any consent, agreement, notification or specification granted, given or made under or pursuant to any condition contained in Schedule 2 to previous licences of the site, was in force immediately prior to the coming into force of this licence and could now be granted, given or made under a corresponding condition contained in Schedule 2 to this licence, that consent, agreement, notification or specification shall not be invalidated by the revocation effected by paragraph 3 hereof* / of licence...*⁵ but shall have effect for the purpose of this licence as if it had been granted, given or made under or pursuant to such corresponding condition."

Where the site is to be relicensed to a new licensee the site inspector may wish to consider taking the opportunity to drop outdated LIs and issue a new suite of LIs bearing the name of the new licensee.

(e) A requirement for the holder of the new licence to maintain records, e.g.:

6. Insofar as any requirement to preserve any document required, record made, authority or consent granted, approval given, or direction or certificate issued in pursuance of the conditions attached to previous licences of the site, was in force immediately prior to the coming into force of this licence it shall not be invalidated by the revocation of licence 78 but shall have effect as if that requirement had been prescribed by this licence."

(f) A paragraph stating the time and date when the new licence is to come into force. N.B. If the time is omitted the licence will come into force on the date specified at the first instant after midnight.

The Schedules

Three or four Schedules will be attached to the licence as follows:

Schedule 1: Part 1 defines the site and Part 2 defines the prescribed installations for which the site is being licensed. The definitions used in the 1971 Nuclear Installations Regulations should be adopted so far as is practicable. An example is attached at Appendix 2 to this Annex.

Schedule 2: Is the standard suite of nuclear site licence conditions. Note that there are 3 versions of Licence Condition 3 depending on whether the site is being operated privately or on behalf of the NDA or the MoD, as follows:

LC3 Version (a): - Sites Designated to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)⁶

No person shall convey, assign, transfer, let or part with possession of the site or any part thereof or grant any property licence in relation thereto, except to the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, without the consent of the Executive.
The licensee shall notify the Executive forthwith if occupancy of any part of the site is taken by the Civil Nuclear Police Authority.
The licensee shall make and implement adequate arrangements to control all property transactions affecting the site or parts thereof.
The licensee shall submit to the Executive for approval such aforesaid arrangements as the Executive may specify.
The licensee shall ensure that once approved no alteration is made to the approved arrangements unless the Executive has approved such alteration or amendment.

LC3 Version (b): - Certain defence-related sites

The licensee shall not convey, assign, transfer, let or part with possession of the site or any part thereof or grant any licence in relation thereto except to the Secretary of State for Defence without the consent of the Executive.
The licensee shall notify the Executive forthwith if occupancy of the site or any part thereof is taken by the Secretary of State for Defence.

LC3 Version (c): - Other Sites

The licensee shall not convey, assign, transfer, let or part with possession of the site or any part thereof or grant any licence in relation thereto without the consent of the Executive.

Schedule 3: For the carry forward of specified Directions and Approvals: see para A2.1(d) above and Appendix 3 to this Annex.

Schedule 4: The plan of the site, conforming to the specification set out in paras 8.3 to 8.7 of this guidance. N.B. The plan will be numbered as Schedule 3 if there are no Directions and Approvals to be carried forward.

Appendix 1 to Annex 2

Site Licence No: 80

NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS ACT 1965 (AS AMENDED)
REVOCATION OF NUCLEAR SITE LICENCE

Magnox Electric Limited

Berkeley Power Station and Berkeley Centre

The Health and Safety Executive, in pursuance of section 5(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended), hereby revokes, subject to the granting and coming into force of Nuclear Site Licence 86 referred to in paragraph 2 of this revocation, Nuclear Site Licence No. 80 which was granted to Magnox Electric Limited on 18 March 2005 in respect of Berkeley Power Station and Berkeley Centre.

This revocation shall take effect immediately prior to the coming into force of Nuclear Site Licence 86 granted to Magnox South Limited. Magnox Electric Limited's period of responsibility under licence 80 will cease at that time.

Dated:

For and on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive

Signed:

Dr A N Hall
HM Deputy Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations
A person authorised to sign in that behalf

Appendix 2 to Annex 2

Site Licence No: 48C

SCHEDULE 1

Part 1: The Site

Land situated near Capenhurst in the District of Chester in the County of Cheshire occupied by the licensee and owned by the licensee or leased to the licensee and shown outlined in red on the Urenco (Capenhurst) Ltd drawing referenced 0UC125736F, with a modification date of 28 November 2003, and entitled "Nuclear Site Boundary Plan for Urenco Capenhurst Site" which is annexed to this licence.

Part 2: The Nuclear Installations

Installations designed or adapted for any treatment of uranium whether enriched or not such as to increase the proportion of the isotope U-235 contained therein.
Installations designed or adapted for the carrying out of any process (not being a process carried out solely for the purposes of chemical or isotopic assay or metallographic investigation) involved in:
1. the production from:
  1. enriched uranium,
  2. any alloy, chemical compound, mixture or combination containing enriched uranium,
  of any alloy, chemical compound, mixture or combination containing enriched uranium.
2. the production, from any alloy, chemical compound, mixture or combination containing enriched uranium, of enriched uranium.
Installations designed or adapted for storage of :
1. fuel elements referred to in Regulation 3(1) of the Nuclear Installations Regulations 1971;
2. irradiated nuclear fuel; or
3. bulk quantities of any other radioactive matter which has been produced or irradiated in the course of the production or use of nuclear fuel,
other than storage incidental to carriage and in the case of irradiated nuclear fuel other than storage incidental to any of the excepted purposes referred to in Regulation 3(5) of the Nuclear Installations Regulations 1971.

Appendix 3 to Annex 2

Licence Instrument Number	Dated	Subject	Condition of Site Licence No. 78	Corresponding condition of Site Licence No. 78A
4	23/4/2004	Burghfield Site Emergency Plan	11(2)	11(2)
6	18/11/2002	Nuclear Safety Committee Terms of Reference	13 (2)	13(2)
7	18/11/2002	Urgent Safety Proposals	13(11)	13(11)
515	16/1/2009	Monitoring Arrangements for Decommissioning Programmes	35(3)	35(3)

Annex 3

Terms of Reference of the Nuclear Safety Committee

A3.1 Licence condition 13(2) prevents a licensee forming a Nuclear Safety Committee until its terms of reference have been submitted to, and approved by, HSE. Whilst draft terms of reference can be submitted and assessed in parallel with the relicensing process we have no power to approve them until there is a valid licence in place, which happens when the new licence is signed. The site inspector will prepare a case to the relevant Deputy Chief Inspector, also covering the approval of procedures for the clearance of urgent safety proposals. Reference to the report dealing with this issue will be part of the site specific licensing project report

A3.2 Where a new Approval is required a period of 7 days will be programmed between the grant of a licence (its signature) and the date on which the licence comes into force. This will allow for the formal submission by the licensee of its NSC terms of reference, consideration of the case by the Deputy Chief Inspector and signature of the Approval. Where appropriate it will also enable the licensee to convene a meeting of its Nuclear Safety Committee to consider arrangements for urgent safety proposals prior to the licence coming into force; this is necessary as LC13(11) requires such arrangements to be considered by the NSC prior to Approval by HSE.

Emergency arrangements

A3.3 It is ND policy that at every licensed site specified parts of the emergency arrangements will be approved prior to a nuclear site licence coming into force. Where an existing site is being relicensed to the incumbent licensee the site inspector may choose to carry the existing approval forward to the new licence.

A3.4 Where an existing site is being licensed to a new operator, specifications under Licence Condition 11(2) may be issued to require the submission of the site emergency arrangements to HSE for Approval⁷. To be legally valid the issue of the specification, submission of the arrangements and issue of the approval must await the formal granting (i.e. signing) of the licence. However preparatory work on the assessment of draft arrangements and on the wording of the specification and approval should be undertaken during the assessment of the licence application so that that only a formal exchange of documents is required in the few days allowed between the granting of the licence and the date it comes into force.

A3.5 The case recommending HM Deputy Chief Inspector should grant the Approval will be prepared by the site inspector. Reference to the report dealing with this issue will be part of the site specific licensing project report.

A3.6 Where a new Approval is required a period of 7 days will be programmed between the grant of a licence (its signature) and the date on which it comes into force. This will allow for:

the issue by HSE of a Specification under Licence Condition 11(2), if required;
consideration of the licensee's proposed emergency arrangements by the first meeting of its Nuclear Safety Committee, which cannot be formally convened until the new licence has been granted;
the submission by the licensee of its emergency arrangements to HSE;
consideration by the appropriate Deputy Chief Inspector of the case prepared by the site inspector, and signing of the Approval by the DCI.

Annex 4

Template for Contents of Licensing Project Assessment Report

1. Introduction

purpose of the report (basis for decision by Chief Inspector on licence application)
background to the licence application - summary of proposed site and installation and applicant's submission
timing: target date for licence to become effective.

2. Application Assessment Process

Outline of approach taken in assessing the application (drawing on this guidance) under 3 key themes: organisation, location, activities
Involvement of stakeholders, including in particular:
outcome of statutory consultation with the appropriate environment agency
Liaison with DECC / Scottish Executive on arrangements for Nuclear Liability Insurance
where appropriate, outcomes of consultation / liaison with others, e.g. other regulators, Infrastructure Planning Commission, Justification etc.

3. The Organisation

organisational capability:
safety management prospectus
nuclear baseline
adequacy of proposals for developing organisational capability over time
nuclear safety committee
adequacy of Conceptual Security Plan

4. The site

site location and boundary, including:
where appropriate, conformity with National Nuclear Policy Statement
compliance with Government siting criteria and SAPs
security of tenure

5. Licensable activities

status of safety cases
adequacy of proposed licence condition compliance arrangements, including emergency arrangements
adequacy of decommissioning proposals (LC35)

6. Recommendation

summary of grounds for recommending grant of licence
notes on format & content of licence, including clearance of draft by Treasury Solicitor

Footnotes

In practice the site is occupied by the nuclear site licence holder under a property licence granted by the NDA.
The arrangement by which AWEML is contracted to the Ministry of Defence to provide required strategic direction and oversight for AWE plc is analogous to the NDA contract model, i.e. AWE Management Limited fulfils the role of a PBO in providing the management tier of AWE plc, which is the SLC.
Relevant Statutory Provisions of HSWA
* delete as appropriate
* delete as appropriate
These are licensed nuclear sites designated to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) by the Secretary of State under powers provided by the Energy Act 2004. They are operated under contract to the NDA by: Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, LLW Repository Ltd, Magnox North Ltd, Magnox South Ltd, Research Sites Restoration Ltd, Sellafield Ltd and Springfields Fuels Ltd
The power to issue an LC11(2) Specification need not be invoked if the licence applicant voluntarily submits the emergency arrangements, since the LC says "...the Executive may specify", rather than "...shall specify."