Energy: Nuclear Safety

Lord McKenzie of Luton Excerpts

Thursday 11th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that question. The important thing that we need is to have a body that is regarded as totally independent by the industry and that the industry can interact with it. Clearly, if the body is independent in that way, it will make its own decisions on who to recruit, whether they are retired, from abroad or from wherever. What is needed is an efficient capability.

[Lord McKenzie of Luton]

My Lords, a consequential benefit of the proposed change of status of the NII would be that it would be outside the Treasury pay remit, which obviously could potentially help with the recruitment of specialists and progress on the generic design assessment. Will the Minister update us on issues around recruitment for the NII and whether that is still a problem?

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, the nuclear inspectorate has been able successfully to fill some of the gaps that it has had in the past couple of years, so it is now much more strongly staffed. That is not a problem. The issue, looking forward, is whether it will be in a position to recruit people of the calibre that it needs. Whatever form it goes forward in, whether as a discrete agency or as a statutory body, it is essential that the inspectorate is able to make the appropriate recruitment.