With effect from 01 April 2007, the security activities of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) will be performed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on behalf of the Health and Safety Commission. The operational nuclear safeguards work of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will also be carried out by the HSE with effect from the same date. The staff in both areas will transfer to the HSE with their work.
The aim of these arrangements is to consolidate the safety, security and safeguards activities of the Government in a single organisation, consistent with the thrust of the recommendations of the 2005 Hampton Report, so as to enable more effective and better co-ordinated regulatory activities and oversight of the industry, and to enable the more effective deployment of resources.
To reflect these changes and the wider portfolio of work being undertaken by HSE, the Nuclear Safety Directorate will become the Nuclear Directorate. The Directorate will be responsible for the regulation of civil nuclear power stations, nuclear chemical and research sites, decommissioning, defence nuclear facilities, civil nuclear security, operational safeguards and nuclear research and strategy.
In summary, these changes mean that HSE will act as the single point of contact for all operational matters concerning nuclear safety, security and safeguards.