Energy Bill [HL] 2022-23, part 13: Provisions on civil nuclear regulation

The Government’s Energy Bill 2022-23 contains provisions covering a wide range of energy-related policy areas. The bill started in the House of Lords and is expected to have its second reading in the Commons on 9 May 2023.

This briefing covers the bill’s provisions relating to nuclear regulation. These provisions would regulate a potential under-the-seabed geological disposal facility for radioactive waste, amend regulation for nuclear sites where the risk of radiation is low (in line with existing international standards), and allow the UK to join a UN convention on providing compensation to victims of nuclear incidents. Provisions would also enable the Civil Nuclear Constabulary to provide a wider range of policing services beyond the civil nuclear sector and make changes to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority pension scheme.

Library briefings covering other measures in the bill can be found online from the Energy Bill [HL] 2022-23 research briefing page.

The clause numbers in this briefing refer to the bill as brought from the Lords, Bill 295 2022-23 (PDF).

Nuclear energy regulations and related policies appear in several places in the bill:

• Part 3, chapter 3 contains provisions to confirm the exclusion of fusion energy facilities from nuclear site licensing requirements (analysis of this provision is in the Library briefing on the Energy Bill – New Technologies). These provisions were not amended at any stage in the House of Lords.
• Part 13, chapter 1 contains clauses on civil (non-military) nuclear sites. None of these clauses were amended at any stage in the Lords. These provisions aim to:
  • ensure that an under-the-seabed geological disposal facility for radioactive waste will require a licence and be regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation. The location of the facility has not been confirmed.
  • allow nuclear sites that are being decommissioned to be delicensed earlier than at present. This would mean that regulation of the sites would be transferred from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to the relevant environment agency and the Health and Safety Executive. The Government believes this would enable a more sustainable approach to waste management and restoring the land back to an acceptable condition.
  • to allow nuclear sites that are in the process of being decommissioned to be delicensed earlier than at present. This would mean that instead of being regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), regulation would be transferred to the relevant environment agency and the Health and Safety Executive. The Government believes this would enable a more sustainable approach to waste management and restoring the land back to an acceptable condition.
  • to allow for both decommissioned sites and for facilities for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste to exit the nuclear third-party liability regime when internationally agreed standards have been met. This regime specifies that financial provision must be in place to meet claims in the event of a nuclear incident, as required under international law on nuclear third-party liability. Existing international standards on when such sites and facilities can exit this regime already exist, but until now have not been implemented in UK law.
  • to allow the UK to join the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. This is a form of nuclear third-party liability (NTPL) treaty. NTPL treaties are international agreements that ensure that, in the unlikely event of a nuclear incident, there is a minimum amount of compensation available to victims and that claims are channelled to operators of the nuclear installation (and not the supply chain).
• Part 13, chapter 2 contains provisions on the civil nuclear constabulary (CNC). These provisions would enable the CNC to provide a wider range of policing services beyond the civil nuclear sector.
• Part 13, chapter 3 contains provisions to bring Nuclear Decommissioning Authority pensions in line with other public sector pensions by moving from a final salary scheme to a career average scheme. These were new clauses which were added by the Government at the Bill’s committee stage in the House of Lords.

The bill’s explanatory notes (PDF) show that the most of the above provisions extend to and apply to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Territorial application is about where a Bill produces a practical effect rather than where it forms part of the law. The exception to this are the clauses on the CNC which extend to and apply to England, Wales and Scotland, but not all of them extend to and apply to Northern Ireland. Within the CNC chapter only clause 262 on cross-border enforcement powers fully extends to and applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.