The UK’s Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, part of the government’s Plan for Change, will be key in enabling nuclear renaissance across the country and growing the economy.
In a new step, John Fingleton CBE has been appointed as the lead of the taskforce today to deliver this new nuclear renaissance.
The appointment is the latest step in the Prime Minister’s ambitious plan to call time on a planning system that has held back new nuclear for too long, unleashing nuclear from cumbersome planning burdens to build new plants, driving energy security and economic growth.
Delivering new nuclear projects to scale up
The independent taskforce will identify how nuclear regulation can better incentivise investment to deliver new projects more quickly and cost efficiently, simplify processes, and reduce duplication, all whilst upholding high safety and security standards.
This follows the reform package laid out by the Prime Minister in January, which included plans to scrap the set list of eight sites which means nuclear sites could be built anywhere across England and Wales; and removing the expiry date on nuclear planning rules so projects don’t get timed out and industry can plan for the long term.
As former boss of the Office of Fair Trading and the Board of UK Research and Innovation, John Fingleton CBE brings significant experience from outside the nuclear industry. He will lead a panel of nuclear experts to help advance nuclear renaissance, unlock economic growth and accelerate towards net zero.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Our Plan for Change and clean energy mission means it is time to build, build, build – it is time for a nuclear renaissance in this country, and that can only happen if we move further and faster to break down the barriers.
“John is equipped with the right experience to drive this review with the urgency required to deliver on our nuclear ambitions.”
Overcoming barriers to nuclear renaissance
Britain is currently considered one of the world’s most expensive countries in which to build nuclear power. The taskforce will look at how to speed up the approval of new reactor designs and streamline how developers engage with regulators.
The recommendations from the taskforce into nuclear regulation will cover both civil and defence nuclear to support both energy security and national security and help unlock economic growth.
The taskforce will help reinforce the importance of the nation’s Defence Nuclear Enterprise, which supports delivery of the government’s triple-lock commitment to the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
It will also explore better international alignment so reactor designs approved abroad could be greenlit more quickly, minimising expensive changes.
This is part of the government push to drive growth, building on the Prime Minister’s announcement earlier this year to overhaul the legal challenges to major infrastructure projects, including nuclear, with Sizewell C having suffered increased legal costs and uncertainty as a result of local activists taking them to court.
Nuclear Regulation Taskforce lead John Fingleton CBE concluded: “I will work closely with business, regulators and other interested individuals and groups to identify how regulation can better enable and incentivise nuclear renaissance.
“New nuclear power is essential to deliver greater productivity growth for the UK economy and greater prosperity for workers and consumers across the UK.
“The taskforce will work hard to ensure that we can achieve those goals.”
