Nuleaf acts as the voice of local authorities in discussions with the UK Government and Welsh Government. We seek to influence strategy and policy so that it supports the best outcomes for local communities. We also work with the regulators of the nuclear industry.
UK Government
The lead UK Government department for nuclear issues is the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). In May 2024 a new Policy Framework on Nuclear Decommissioning and Radioactive Substances was launched. This represents the first major update on policy since 1995 and enables new approaches to legacy waste management. In particular, it will support Proportionate Regulatory Control (PRC), which will enable the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to consider the disposal of low-level radioactive waste in -situ and on-site. It will also facilitate the evaluation of the potential for the Near Surface Disposal of a proportion of the Higher Activity Waste (HAW) inventory.
Nuleaf’s Executive Director sits on the UK Government’s Radioactive Substances Policy Group (RSPG), which is the main strategic decision-making body on legacy wastes and decommissioning.
Welsh Government
Nuleaf also engages with the Welsh Government.
We were involved in discussions and the consultation on Welsh policy on Higher Activity Waste and proposals for taking forward the Geological Disposal Facility siting process in Wales.
Regulators
Local Planning Authorities are regulators of nuclear licensed sites through the land use and waste planning system. Nuleaf helps support this through our Radioactive Waste Planning Group (RWPG).
The nuclear industry is also overseen by the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and by the environment agencies – The Environment Agency in England and Natural Resources Wales.
The ONR is responsible for the safety and security of nuclear operations across the UK and the delicensing of nuclear sites once they have been remediated.
The environment agencies enforce laws and regulations that aim to protect human health and the environment. They authorise, control and monitor the disposal of radioactive waste into the air, water and land and issue permits for nuclear decommissioning operations and consents for non-radioactive environmental activities.
Nuleaf engages with the regulators as appropriate. One particular area of interest is the interaction of planning and permitting in the decommissioning and remediation of nuclear licensed sites.
We advocate the use of a Master-planning approach to site clean-up. This involves the development of a partnership between the nuclear industry, the local authority and the environmental and safety regulators. Master-planning is already being successfully employed at the Winfrith site.