 | |
| Statutory corporation overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2011 (2011) |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | Building 4, Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle L20 7HS |
| Employees | 651 (as of 31 March 2021) |
| Annual budget | £95.04m (2021/22) |
| Statutory corporation executives |
|
| Website | www |
TheOffice for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is the regulator for thenuclear industry in the United Kingdom.[1] It is an independentstatutory corporation whose costs are met by charging fees to the nuclear industry. The ONR reports to theDepartment for Work and Pensions and also worked with theDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero.[2][3]
The establishment of the ONR followed a 2008 review conducted on behalf of the Government into the regulation of the UK civil nuclear industry, recommending the creation of a single industry-specific regulator. The ONR was created on 1 April 2011 as a non-statutoryagency of theHealth and Safety Executive (HSE), with the Government intending to put the ONR on a statutory basis at a later date.[4]The ONR was formed from the merger of the HSE's Nuclear Directorate (the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the UK Safeguards Office) and — from 1 June 2011 — theDepartment for Transport's Radioactive Materials Transport Team.[5] Legislation to establish the ONR was included in theEnergy Act 2013, and it was formally launched as an independentstatutory corporation on 1 April 2014.[6]ONR's original mission (as detailed in the DWP/ONR Framework document) was: "To provide efficient and effective regulation of the nuclear industry, holding it to account on behalf of the public". The2013 Energy Act specified that ONR's five statutory purposes were: Nuclear safety; Nuclear site health and safety; Civil Nuclear security; Nuclear safeguards; Transport of radioactive materials.[7]
The ONR is governed by a ten-member board, and is accountable toParliament through theDepartment for Work and Pensions (DWP) in matters of finance, governance and non-nuclear health and safety.[8]Nick Baldwin CBE, former chief executive ofPowergen (nowE.ON UK) was appointed part-time interim chair of the ONR on its formation,[1] resigning as anon-executive director ofScottish and Southern Energy.[9] On 21 February 2019, theSecretary of State for Work and Pensions announced that Mark McAllister would succeed Baldwin as Chair of the Board. Mark McAllister began his five-year appointment as ONR Chair on 1 April 2019.[10]The ONR Board oversees the operation of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chief Nuclear Inspector (CNI). John Jenkins, who was CEO from 2013 to 2015, resigned from his post on 28 February 2015 and was replaced by Les Philpott on 1 March 2015 as the Interim Chief Executive. Adriènne Kelbie was appointed Chief Executive and took up the appointment on 18 January 2016.[11] In October 2017 Mark Foy was appointed Chief Nuclear Inspector; he was previously the Deputy Chief Nuclear Inspector.[12]
New leadership arrangements commenced on 1 June 2021 which saw Mark Foy become ONR's combined Chief Executive and Chief Nuclear Inspector.[13]Donald Urquhart was appointed Executive Director of Regulation and Sarah High as Deputy Chief Executive. Additionally, Paul Fyfe was appointed as Director of Regulation Civil Nuclear Security and Safeguards, Jane Bowie was appointed as Director of Regulation for New Reactors, Mike Finnerty was appointed Director of Regulation Operating Facilities, Paul Dicks was appointed Director of Regulation Sellafield, Decommissioning Fuel and Waste and Steve Vinson was appointed Technical Director.
As of 2021 the ONR had about 650 staff and a budget of £95.05 million, which was largely cost-recovered from users, with a 2% grant from the DWP.
In 2025, the government announced theAtlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy, which will permit fast-track new reactor design reviews by permitting the ONR and the USNuclear Regulatory Commission to accept parts of each other's safety assessment, eliminating duplication, aiming to reduce ONR assessment time to about two years.[14][15]
Following the 2006 Energy review the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate developed the Generic Design Assessment process (GDA), now operated by ONR, to assess new nuclear reactor designs ahead of site-specific proposals.[16] The GDA initially started assessing four designs:
However the ACR-1000 and ESBWR were subsequently withdrawn from the assessment for commercial reasons,[17][18] leaving the EPR and AP1000 as contenders for British new nuclear builds.[19][20] Assessment of the AP1000 was suspended in December 2011 at Westinghouse's request, awaiting a firm UK customer before addressing issues raised by the assessment.[21][22]
In 2012Hitachi purchasedHorizon Nuclear Power, announcing intent to build two to three 1,350 MWeAdvanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR) on both of Horizon's sites.[23] The GDA was agreed in April 2013.[21]
In August 2014Westinghouse resumed the AP1000 assessment, afterToshiba andENGIE purchasedNuGeneration and announced plans to developMoorside Nuclear Power Station with 3 AP1000s. In November 2016 the ONR noted there was a "very large amount of assessment to complete with issues still emerging".[24][25]On 30 March 2017 theAP1000 successfully completed the GDA process,[26] ironically the day after the designer, Westinghouse, filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy because of $9 billion of losses from its nuclear reactor construction projects, mostly the construction of four AP1000 reactors in the U.S.[27]
On 21 September 2015 Energy SecretaryAmber Rudd announced that a Chinese designed nuclear power station was expected to be built atBradwell nuclear power station.[28][29][30]On 19 January 2017 the GDA process for theHualong One (HPR1000) started,[31] and successfully finished in February 2022.[32]
TheABWR GDA process completed successfully in December 2017.[33]
In 2020, the GDA process was updated to be more suitable forsmall modular reactors and advanced nuclear technologies. A three step process was introduced:[34]
On 1 April 2022, the GDA Step 1 of the 470 MWeRolls-Royce SMR started.[35] Step 2 will begin once the timescales and resources have been agreed.[36]
Although the ONR is primarily a civil regulator, the ONR Defence Programme regulates military nuclear and conventional safety across a number of licensed and non-licensed nuclear sites, which are operated for theMinistry of Defence (MOD) nuclear defence capability. This is carried out under a complex legal regime, in conjunction with MOD'sDefence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR). The ONR does not influence the design of submarine nuclear power plants or nuclear weapons, and does not regulate security or transport of MOD nuclear materials.[37][3]
ONR responsibility includes assessing the response systems fornuclear weapon accidents atHMNB Clyde andRNAD Coulport, inArgyll, Scotland.[38]
Since about 2013 the ONR has given the two majorAtomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites enhanced regulatory attention due to "safety and compliance concerns, and the continued undertaking of operations in ageing facilities due to delays to the delivery of modern standard replacement facilities." The ONR anticipated AWE would move back to normal regulatory attention in 2021 after the new facilities are completed.[39]
