Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the evidential basis was for the statement made by his Department's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in her foreword to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's Annual Report and Accounts for 2013-14, issued on 23 June 2014, that the continuation of Nuclear Management Partner's contract to manage the Sellafield site offers the potential of stability and focus on the priorities during a vital five-year period in the history of Sellafield as it transitions from an operational plant into a fully-fledged decommissioning site.

The decision on contract extension was for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in line with its duties and responsibilities under the Energy Act 2004. The Department has oversight of all NDA activity and, given the particular importance of Sellafield, officials were closely involved throughout the contract review. From this we were assured that the NDA reached its decision based on a thorough and independent review of performance in the first period of the contract and consideration of all the options available to it. Ministers endorsed the NDA Board's decision to extend the contract for a second term on the basis that rolling the contract forward represented the best way forward, giving the opportunity for NMP to build on progress made to date, address weaker areas of performance and make further real progress in this next five year term.