Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Agency overview
Formed	1 April 2005
Preceding	Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Moor Row, England, UK
Employees	250 (subsidiaries about 15,000)[1]
Minister responsible	Andrew Bowie, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Agency executives	Tom Smith, Chairman David Peattie, Chief Executive
Parent department	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Child agencies	International Nuclear Services Direct Rail Services Radioactive Waste Management Sellafield Ltd
Website	www.nda.gov.uk

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (formerly the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) formed by the Energy Act 2004. It evolved from the Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry. It came into existence during late 2004, and took on its main functions on 1 April 2005. Its purpose is to deliver the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's civil nuclear legacy in a safe and cost-effective manner, and where possible to accelerate programmes of work that reduce hazard.

Although the NDA itself employs about 250 staff, its subsidiaries employ about 15,000 staff across the NDA estate.^[1] Its annual budget is £3.5 billion, the vast majority of which is spent through contracts with site licence companies, who also subcontract to other companies which provide special services. The NDA aims to do this by introducing innovation and contractor expertise through a series of competitions similar to the model that has been used in the United States.

In April 2017, the NDA lost a legal case in the Supreme Court regarding the procurement of a sizeable contract for the decommissioning of twelve different Magnox nuclear facilities when EnergySolutions EU (now called ATK Energy EU) challenged a decision in connection with ATK's unsuccessful bid.^[2] In February 2018 Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concluded that the NDA had "dramatically under-estimated" costs and "completely failed" in the procurement and management of the Magnox Ltd contract, which was one of the highest value contracts let by the government. An independent inquiry into the deal was set up.^[3][4]