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Feb 03, 2024

NDA-Jahresbericht und Jahresabschluss 2019 bis 2020

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Updated 21 July 2020

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This overview section provides an insight into our work during 2019/20 and highlights areas of progress for this year. We have described these using our 5 strategic themes.

Many important milestones and plans were realised in 2019/20 and the NDA became a stronger, more capable and confident body.

2019/20 was a pivotal year for the NDA, both in working towards our decommissioning targets and organisationally. Of course, the final weeks of the year brought the uncertainty of a global pandemic and we, like other organisations, have had to deal with the challenges of COVID-19.

At the start of the 2019/20 financial year we couldn’t have anticipated the scale of the challenges that were to face people and businesses across the world in 2020. The NDA group has responded to the global COVID-19 crisis with professionalism and empathy. While the virus has impacted the majority of our operations, I’m pleased as I write this that our sites have been able to safely resume some important activities. There remains much uncertainty however about longer term impacts.

To provide stability for the NDA Board against this backdrop, I am continuing as Chair until 31 August 2020. It’s a privilege to be able to continue my support for the organisation and my colleagues in these uncertain times.

I’m delighted that during 2019/20 many important milestones and plans were realised, in some cases after years of painstaking planning and preparatory work. Such is the long-term and complex nature of our mission it has, at times, been a challenge to demonstrate the progress we’re making. Being able to publicly celebrate some major milestones, such as completing defueling at all our Magnox sites, is a seminal moment for our mission. Our workforces and supply chain deserve praise and recognition for what they have achieved. The NDA’s safety performance, one of the Board’s top priorities, also continued to be good, with no serious accidents or injuries during the year.

We’re not complacent though and know that there’s always room for improvement. Openly and transparently reporting on how the NDA is delivering against its plans and spending taxpayer money will remain a priority for the NDA Board and indeed ‘openness’ is one of our corporate values. The organisation’s new Mission Progress Report, developed last year, is an important step forward in enabling stakeholder scrutiny.

In the last couple of years, the extent and depth of the changes to the way in which the NDA leads the mission have been significant. Under David Peattie’s leadership, the NDA and its group have moved to relationships based on collaboration instead of commercial contracts. I’ve seen a real appetite for this approach, offering great opportunity for the NDA to drive and sustain continuous improvement and value for money.

The NDA Corporate Centre is now a stronger, more capable and confident body. Though we still await the outcome of the Magnox Inquiry, I’m confident that David and his leadership team, with support and challenge from the Board, have taken the necessary steps to address the shortcomings of the past and make us a better, stronger NDA.

Over 2019/20 we said goodbye to non-executive Board members Candida Morley and her successor David Long, both representatives of our shareholder UKGI. I’d like to thank them for their valuable contributions. In David’s place we welcome Alex Reeves, also a UKGI director. To strengthen further the Board’s range of expertise, Michelle Heath, who has a career in the nuclear industry spanning 20 years, was appointed as an additionalnon-executive member.

On 30 June 2020, Michelle indicated that she had accepted a long-term consultancy role within the nuclear industry and because of the resultant conflict of interest she gave notice of her resignation from the Board, with effect from that date.

We also had a change in executive membership of the board following the appointment of Mel Zuydam as our Chief Financial Officer, replacing David Batters who left us after many years of committed service to the NDA. Mel has a strong track record in financial change, business growth and performance management and has worked across both the private and public sector. Finally, I’m delighted that Dr. Ros Rivaz has been appointed as my successor, to step into the role on 1 September 2020. Ros’ wide experience at senior levels across multiple industries will be of enormous value to the NDA. I wish her every success in the role.

Leading the NDA Board as Chair has been one of the highlights of my working life. I am proud and privileged to have held such responsibility in a mission of national environmental, safety and security importance. The experience has been enhanced by working with so many dedicated and talented people, who I shall miss. Our workforce is a true asset and I’d like to thank them for the determination, ingenuity, pride and passion they bring to our clean-up programme.

I also want to thank our site stakeholder groups. They provide, in equal measure, support for and challenge to our work and they are essential to the success of our mission. It has been a rewarding feature of leading the NDA to have contributed to the valuable economic support we are able to provide to the communities in which we operate.

As I prepare to depart I’d like to wish the NDA well for the future. I’ll watch, with interest and pride, continued progress in dealing with the UK’s nuclear legacy.

Tom SmithNDA Chairman 13 July 2020

We’ve enjoyed a year of success - strengthening the NDA group and progressing our decommissioning mission.

We’re charged with cleaning up the UK’s earliest nuclear sites safely and securely. Our mission to decommission our 17 sites is at the heart of the work we do. In last year’s report I talked about the strategic direction for the NDA group – a cohesive group of organisations driving effective and efficient mission delivery. Over the last 12 months we’ve taken a series of important steps to strengthen and simplify the way our group is organised.

In response to the changing nature of our role as owner of an increased number of subsidiaries, we’ve reviewed and improved the NDA Corporate Centre capability and capacity. Work in the area of culture, diversity and inclusion has remained at the forefront of our priorities, with significant progress being made.

Importantly, this year has been one of success in clean-up and decommissioning work on our nuclear sites. The importance of our work and progress was reflected in the Government’s one year spending round, with agreed funding levels accounting for our planned increase in decommissioning activity and expected reduction in commercial revenue.

As I’m writing this, we’re of course in the midst of an international health pandemic. COVID-19 has meant that some of our operations have had to temporarily de-mobilise at our sites. As soon as we are safely able to, we are ready to return to our normal levels of activity and clean-up work.

These are incredibly difficult times and I’m proud of the way our organisations and employees are responding to this unprecedented challenge and supporting the national and local efforts.

We entered the 2019/20 financial year introducing One NDA across the NDA group. One NDA is about working together more effectively and efficiently as a group, harnessing the opportunities that come from our scale and breadth. In effect making the whole more than the sum of the parts.

In September last year we successfully transitioned Magnox Ltd to a subsidiary of the NDA, taking another very important step in this strategic shift. Led by chair Lawrie Haynes and CEO Gwen Parry-Jones, securing their experience and skills for Magnox has ensured an excellent start to the new subsidiary arrangements. More recently, we announced our decision to bring our two transport arms, DRS and INS, together to create a leading nuclear transport and logistics organisation. Work to determine the precise structure and operations of this business will be a key focus this year.

With regards to our nationally important on-the-ground work, it’s been a productive year for meeting milestones and delivering results. Starting on our Magnox sites, all 26 Magnox reactors – the world’s first type of commercial nuclear power stations - are now fuel free, with defueling being completed at Calder Hall and Wylfa.

Dounreay’s stock of civil separated plutonium is now safely stored at Sellafield, the UK’s centre of excellence for plutonium management, following a phased transfer programme. Also at Dounreay, half the remaining radioactive fuel elements have now been removed from the 60-year-old Dounreay Fast Reactor. Both programmes involved multiple NDA group workforces and stakeholders to ensure smooth completion.

At our Low Level Waste Repository, the workforce celebrated diverting 11,000 containers from having to be disposed at the site. This has eliminated the need for a second repository and saved up to £2 billion for the taxpayer.

At Sellafield, we marked the first pour of concrete on the Sellafield Product and Residue Store Retreatment Plant (SRP), which is a huge milestone in our mission. The project will provide safe storage of special nuclear materials for at least 100 years and is a vital part of our hazard and risk reduction progress. Working with the NDA and regulators, Sellafield Ltd has led a dedicated team to see this part of the project come to fruition.

How we report on important progress like this has been significantly improved, with the publication of our first Mission Progress Report last summer. This now provides a clear picture for stakeholders of the steps to achieving our mission and a system for reporting progress across the group. This work will continue to evolve as we build in more facets to our reporting.

The safety of our people and the environment remains our priority and last September we held our first One NDA Safety and Wellbeing Awards, sharing inspiring work from across the NDA group. As well as placing safety at the heart of our site operations, we’ve also continued our important work to promote mental health and wellbeing across the NDA group.

Our progress in shifting our workplace culture and increasing inclusion and diversity was measured recently in a cross-group employee survey, and I’m delighted to see a positive trajectory in many areas. My goal is clear, to create great places to work for everyone, encouraging inclusion and diversity at every level. A particular honour for me this year has been becoming patron of Women in Nuclear (WiN), supporting its important work to address gender balance awareness. The NDA has a specific focus on closing the gender pay gap and while we won’t redress the balance overnight, we’re making progress.

The next year or two will see us continuing to further strengthen, embed and capitalise on our work to build a strong NDA group to deliver decommissioning success and taxpayer value.

We’ll also be looking forward to some notable milestones in our mission. Our waste optimisation and ambitions of our Radioactive Waste Strategy will continue to be important. So too will be the work by Radioactive Waste Management, under the leadership of new CEO Karen Wheeler CBE, to identify a suitable site and willing community for a geological disposal facility. In 2021 we’ll be publishing the next iteration of our strategy, setting out our approach to delivering our mission, informed by stakeholder views.

Our Chairman Tom Smith will step down in 2020, after 3 years in post and 7 years in total on the NDA Board. I’d like to offer Tom my sincere thanks and I’m delighted that Dr Ros Rivaz will be joining us in September, as the new NDA chair.

I’d also like to recognise the significant contribution of Paul Foster, who led the Sellafield site and its 12,000 strong workforce for 5 years. Paul led a period of unrivalled clean-up and decommissioning progress at the site, for which I’m immensely grateful. Paul was succeeded by Martin Chown on 1 February 2020.

Also, much thanks, as always, to our highly-skilled workforce. Whether immersed in front-line decommissioning or playing a vital support role, our employees are one of the most skilled workforces in the world. And finally, we couldn’t make progress without our stakeholders, who continue to challenge, scrutinise and support our vitally important work.

David PeattieAccounting Officer and Chief Executive Officer 13 July 2020

A very successful year with excellent portfolio management of income, resources and investment to deliver strong mission progress and Business Plan performance.

The NDA group consolidated income, expenditure and capital investment for the year resulted in a strong delivery of our business plan targets, against an accurately financially managed outturn of our £2.4bn funds voted by Parliament. Our commercial income remained strong at £789m. Our capital investment was £1,798m and our resource expenditure (including admin expenditure) was £1,371m.

Expenditure was approximately £70m below budget due to a combination of savings and scheduling changes through our portfolio management process.

We continue to apply the highest standards to budgetary control, managing our expenditure within the budgets agreed by government. Under One NDA, we have developed a new Integrated Financial Framework to further enhance our financial skills, capabilities and effectiveness across the NDA group. Through the 3 lenses of financial people and stakeholders; reporting and performance; and value for money and internal control we will collectively further enhance both our financial governance and business support to drive value for money and efficiency. This will also include a focus on improving our Programme and Project management across our portfolios.

During the year we welcomed Magnox Ltd into the NDA group, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary in September 2019 with its financial results now incorporated into the NDA group accounts. This change also means that over 90% of activity in the group is controlled under the subsidiary model.

Our nuclear decommissioning provision increased in the year by £4.2 billion due mainly to a review of the future costs of the Magnox estate. We will continue to review our future estimates in the coming year, with a major review of the Sellafield plan now underway.

Our funding for the 2020/21 financial year was secured in the recent single year spending settlement and, while the goverment’s anticipated Spending Review in the summer of 2020 has been re-scheduled to later in the year due to the pandemic, we are well advanced with reviewing our portfolio planning and re-forecasting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we move forward into 2020/21 we’re continuing to provide financial and structural planning to support further One NDA developments such as the new nuclear transport and logistics organisation. We’re also providing corporate finance support to broader delivery opportunities through the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy our parent department, earning our position in the UK to be ‘trusted to do more’ in our core mission of nuclear decommissioning.

Mel ZuydamGroup Chief Financial Officer

Note: the figures in the above image are prepared on the basis of Government financial reporting, (HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting Guidance), which differs in part from the basis used to prepare the financial statements.

A total of £3.2bn spent in the year

A net total of £2.4bn funded by the Government

£0.8bn of income

NDA’s own running costs are £53 million and 1.4% of overall estate budget

It’s our duty to carry out this highly complex mission safely and efficiently, ensuring people and the environment are safeguarded at all times. Safety is, and always will be, our number one priority.

17 nuclear sites across the UK

1046 hectares of designated land on nuclear licensed sites

11 businesses

15,000 employees across the estate

More than 800 buildings to be demolished

We lead the nuclear clean up and decommissioning mission on behalf of Government and develop the strategy for how it should be carried out.

As owners of one of the largest nuclear decommissioning and remediation programmes in Europe, our main priority is to lead the work across the NDA group. We also play an important role in supporting Government’s aspiration for the UK to be a global leader in the civil nuclear sector.

Our strategy is continually evolving, and updated every 5 years. We’re now working on our fourth iteration, which we’ll publish in 2021.

We strive to deliver best value for the UK tax payer by focusing on reducing the highest hazards and risks, while ensuring safe, secure and environmentally responsible operations at our sites. By generating revenue through our commercial activities, we seek ways to reduce levels of public funding from Government.

We’re a non-departmental public body created by the Energy Act 2004 to lead the clean-up and decommissioning work at our 17 sites on behalf of Government. We’re sponsored and funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Our plans for cleaning up the sites are approved by BEIS and Scottish Ministers, who provide a framework for us.We have 5 offices across the UK, in Cumbria, Dounreay, Harwell, Warrington and London and employ 246 permanent staff.

The UK’s nuclear landscape began to take shape in the post-war period and has evolved over many decades.Our 17 sites reflect this legacy and include the first fleet of nuclear power stations, research centres, fuel-related facilities and Sellafield, which has the largest radioactive inventory and the most complex facilities to decommission.

Current plans indicate it will take 100+ years to complete our core mission of nuclear clean-up and waste management. The ultimate goal is to achieve the end state at all sites by 2120.

We don’t deliver our mission alone. Accomplishing this important work requires the best efforts of the entire NDA group and its 15,000 employees.

The businesses charged with running our sites are called site licence companies (SLCs). We have 4 SLCs; Sellafield and Magnox are subsidiaries of the NDA, while Dounreay Site Restoration and Low Level Waste Repository are managed by parent body organisations with which we have a contract.

Springfields and Capenhurst are also managed by private sector organisations with which we have decommissioning contracts and other commercial arrangements.

We have a number of other subsidiaries, which are responsible for delivering crucial support and enabling activities. Direct Rail Services and International Nuclear Services look after our unique transport requirements, and are amongst the most experienced nuclear transport organisations in the world. Meanwhile, Radioactive Waste Management is responsible for the mission to deliver a Geological Disposal Facility.

Our other subsidiaries are Rutherford Indemnity, NDA Archives, NDA Properties and Energus.

When David Peattie joined the NDA as Chief Executive in 2017, he commissioned an assessment of how to take the NDA group forward to find more effective and efficient ways to provide nuclear clean-up and decommissioning.

The benefits we’re striving to achieve from One NDA are:

As well as our shared mission across the NDA group, One NDA has enabled us to develop a unified vision. This reflects the changing nature of the NDA group and the opportunities that brings.

Create great places to work and taking pride in what we do

Deliver our mission together safely, securely and more creatively, transparently and efficiently

Trusted to do more in the UK and globally

We use 5 strategic themes to describe all the activities needed to deliver the NDA’s mission.

The first four, Spent Fuels, Nuclear Materials, Integrated Waste Management and Site Decommissioning relate directly to our clean-up and decommissioning and are known as driving themes.

The fifth theme describes the important activities needed to support the delivery of our mission and is known as critical enablers. The diagram below demonstrates how they interplay.

Our case studies also show some of the progress we’ve made against these important themes in 2019/20.

Our strategy defines our approach to managing the diverse range of spent fuels for which we are responsible, which are divided into Magnox, Oxide and Exotic. Once spent fuel is removed from a reactor, it is stored in a pond or dry store until it can be dispatched to Sellafield. Reprocessing extracts materials (plutonium and uranium) that could potentially be re-used and also generates highly radioactive wastes, or ‘fission products’.

The NDA’s strategy is to bring the reprocessing programme to an end. The Thorp reprocessing plant has already closed and the Magnox reprocessing plant will follow.

All remaining spent fuel will be safely stored until a permanent solution for disposal is available.

Our strategy defines our approach to dealing with the inventory of uranics and plutonium currently stored on some of our sites.

These nuclear materials are by-products from different phases of the fuel cycle, either manufacturing or reprocessing. All nuclear materials must be managed safely and securely, by either converting them into new fuel or immobilising and storing them until a permanent UK disposal facility is available.

Consolidating plutonium at Sellafield and Uranics at Capenhurst is currently being carried out so the materials can be managed in an appropriate and effective way.

Our strategy considers how we manage all forms of waste arising from operating and decommissioning our sites, including waste retrieved from legacy facilities.

Managing the large quantities of radioactive waste from electricity generation, research, the early defence programme and decommissioning is one of the NDA’s biggest challenges. Some of this radioactive waste is in a raw (untreated) form, some has been treated and is being interim-stored and, in the case of low level waste, some has already been permanently disposed of.

Retrieving, treating and interim-storing the radioactive waste from Sellafield’s 4 legacy ponds and silo facilities is the NDA’s highest priority.

Our strategy defines our approach to decommissioning redundant facilities and managing land quality in order that each site can be released for its next planned use.

After the buildings on our sites have been decommissioned, decontaminated and dismantled the land will be cleaned up to allow it to be released for other uses. At that point, its ownership would transfer to the new user of the land.

The NDA is currently assessing alternatives for the final stages of decommissioning that could lead to earlier release of land, continued employment and simpler regulatory controls.

Across our 4 driving themes, we break the delivery of our mission down into 47 strategic outcomes.

So far, 4 of our strategic outcomes have been achieved, 2 of them this year.

The following tables show all 47 outcomes and how much change in progress there has been since 2018/19 and which of our businesses are involved in delivering these outcomes.

Overall, good progress continues to be made with the safe management of nuclear inventory and reduction of its risks.

More strategic outcomes will be achieved with the closure of the reprocessing facilities and the building of new modern treatment and storage facilities to manage nuclear material and waste - ultimately working towards the final disposal of nuclear inventory and the release of land for other economic uses.

*outcomes 26, 27, 28 and 30: percentage figures have reduced from the previous year because of more accurate recategorisation of some wastes.

**outcomes 41, 42 and 43: improved building classification, and baseline plans are under review.

Our fifth strategic theme, critical enablers, covers the important activities needed to support the overall delivery of our mission

Safety is, and always will be, our number one priority. Our focus is to reduce the highest hazards and risks, while ensuring safe, secure and environmentally responsible operations at our sites. It’s our duty to carry out this highly complex mission safely and efficiently while ensuring people and the environment are safeguarded at all times.

We will apply the principles of sustainability to ensure that our mission outcomes and the journey to achieve them are the right balance of environmental, economic and social impacts.

We have responsibility to ensure that the group has the appropriate levels of physical, personnel, cyber and ICT capability and competencies to minimise risks and protect all group assets.

Engaging openly and transparently with all our stakeholders is crucial to building the support, confidence and trust we need to deliver our mission.

We have a responsibility to support the sustainability of our sites’ communities, up to and after their closure. The NDA group’s socio-economic strategy is built upon supporting sustainable incomes, resilient economies and thriving communities.

Our approach is to work locally. This means working in partnership with local authorities and organisations to better understand local needs.

Our mission needs a diverse range of individuals and organisations to provide the capability and capacity to deliver effectively, so having the rights skills at the right time within the NDA group and our supply chain is a priority.

Our strategy on skills is three-fold: attracting the right calibre of people, developing future skills, and developing our existing talent.

Delivering our mission needs many ‘never-done-before’ solutions, which require significant innovation and novel engineering approaches. Our strategy is to solve the challenging technical problems safely, while aiming to be more effective, efficient and wherever possible for less cost to the taxpayer.

Research and development is essential to decommissioning our sites and is delivered in partnership with our supply chain.

Developing innovative ways to overcome our challenges will see us focus on areas such as remote and robotic technologies in the coming years and take advantage of innovation in other sectors such as space, oil and gas.

A diverse, ethical, innovative and resilient supply chain is essential to delivering the NDA mission and provides value for money for the UK taxpayer.

Our strategies are aligned to business operations, informed by excellent market insight and recognise that value comes in many forms, such as an improved environment, reduced hazard, social amenities, cost savings and employment opportunities.

The following sections outline some of the great progress made by our workforce this year.

This activity sits within the Spent Fuels strategic theme

In 2019, the NDA group reached a major decommissioning milestone when the defueling of the last Magnox site was completed.

The Magnox fleet, the world’s first type of commercial nuclear power station, safely generated low-carbon electricity for the UK between 1956 to 2015. Once electricity generation has come to an end, removing the spent fuel from a nuclear power station site is one of the major hazard reduction activities.

Defueling the Magnox reactors is one of the most important steps towards completing the NDA’s mission of decommissioning the legacy from the earliest days of the nuclear industry.

The last of the spent fuel elements were finally removed from the nuclear reactors at Calder Hall, and Wylfa, which accounted for over 99% of the radioactivity on those sites.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) gave its official ‘fuel-free verification’ to Wylfa in October 2019. This marked the end of defueling operations at 26 Magnox reactors, meaning all nuclear fuel has been removed from all 11 sites.

The defueling programme has been achieved through a collaborative team approach amongst the highly-skilled workforces at Sellafield Ltd, Magnox Ltd, Direct Rail Services and the NDA.

This activity sits within the Nuclear Materials strategic theme

All separated plutonium has been successfully transported from Dounreay to Sellafield for storage.

In 2013 the strategic decision was taken to consolidate Dounreay’s plutonium inventory at Sellafield. Due to the radioactive and fissile nature of the material, plutonium handling and storage requires specialised facilities and stringent management arrangements. Shipping direct to the Sellafield site offered us the best balance of safety and delivery, allowing the packages to be treated at the UK’s centre of excellence for managing plutonium.

Years of meticulous planning and stakeholder engagement concluded last year when all civil separated plutonium was transferred from Dounreay and consolidated at Sellafield. The completion of the programme, the first area of focus in the NDA’s approach to safely and securely managing the UK’s inventory of this nuclear material, was a significant milestone for our mission, seeing us achieving one of our 47 strategic outcomes (Strategic Outcome 17).

The project was the culmination of a huge effort between multiple businesses across the NDA group and stakeholders, including the UK Government, regulators, police services in Scotland and England, Sellafield, Dounreay, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and our specialist transport companies – DRS, INS and PNTL.

Completion of this work also meant further progress towards the decommissioning and remediation of the Dounreay site itself, while the NDA and Sellafield can now prioritise the management and treatment of the material during its safe storage at the site.

This activity sits within the Nuclear Materials strategic theme

One of the complex challenges in dealing with our legacy is the management and ultimate disposition of the UK’s inventory of separated plutonium.

A major milestone was met last year, when the first concrete was poured on a new facility at Sellafield to repackage the plutonium materials for long term storage.

Our strategy for managing plutonium is to store it in a suite of custom-built facilities that ensure its safety and security, in line with regulatory requirements.

There are a number of plutonium stores on the Sellafield site. Over the past decade, materials have continued to be retrieved from older stores and consolidated in more modern state-of-the-art facilities such as the Sellafield Product and Residue Store (SPRS).

In the past 12 months, Sellafield has started to recover some of the most degraded plutonium storage packages, therefore beginning to mitigate one of the more significant challenges associated with storing these materials.

To ensure that the packages can be safely stored, they need to be repackaged and made compatible for long-term storage. A major new specialised facility was designed to support this work. Sellafield Product and Residues Store Retreatment Plant (SRP), due to be operational within the next 10 years, is now being created to repackage and where necessary, retreat all of the plutonium packages.

Working in close collaboration with the NDA and the supply chain, Sellafield Ltd has led a dedicated team and worked with regulators to see this early part of the project come to fruition. The project is one of the first three to be delivered through the new Programme and Project Partners (PPP), which sees Sellafield working with four long term partners to deliver some of the most important projects and programmes.

This activity sits within the Integrated Waste Management strategic theme

We committed to develop a single radioactive waste strategy for the NDA group. September 2019 saw the publication of that document, a first for the nuclear industry.

We now have a clear approach to managing all radioactive waste generated within the NDA estate, including materials that may become waste at some point in the future.

Over 90% of the UK’s radioactive waste will be generated by our estate and we also own the majority of significant radioactive waste management infrastructure. Hence there are important potential benefits from a single strategic approach.

The strategy provides a high-level framework for flexible decision-making. Rather than having separate strategies for higher activity waste and solid low level waste, we can now support an approach where radioactive wastes are managed according to the nature of waste (radiological, physical and chemical properties) rather than simply the radioactive waste category they fall into.

It means greater opportunities to drive efficiencies, reduce the length of our mission, bring significant savings, provide a clearer process and also reduce duplication of effort.

The new strategy was welcomed by more than 250 delegates attending the Integrated Waste Management Conference in October 2019. Industry leaders from across the globe gathered to learn more about this significant step forward in strategic thinking and the progress that is being made in more effectively managing radioactive waste across our estate.

This activity sits within the Site Decommissioning and Remediation strategic theme

Our Low Level Waste Repository in west Cumbria is the nation’s principle disposal facility for low level waste which it receives from a range of customers, including the nuclear industry.

Over the last 6 years, LLWR has been decommissioning 5 radioactive chambers on-site, delivering the work 4 years earlier than planned, saving £20 million for the taxpayer.

The 5 chambers were originally constructed to produce TNT munitions to support the Second World War. They were then used by the nuclear industry to store Plutonium Contaminated Material (PCM) generated from operations at nuclear sites across the UK.

A chamber or ‘magazine’ is a reinforced concrete bunker, with a series of small rooms leading off from a raised concrete railway platform and rail bay. Once filled, the magazines were sealed and the highly radioactive material stored for decades before a programme to repackage and remove the material from the LLWR site to Sellafield began.

Magazine retrievals facilities were constructed, which allowed employees wearing protective air-fed-suits to characterise, size reduce and repackage the PCM so it could be sent to Sellafield.

Although the magazines were emptied, the structures, plant and equipment remaining inside were highly contaminated.

In 2013, LLWR set out on a 10-year programme to decommission the bunkers. The work involved decontaminating and taking down structures, dealing with highly radioactive surfaces and cutting and lifting over 200 300kg concrete sections.

The programme team has worked collaboratively with the supply chain, focused on improvements, learning and efficiencies. For instance, when Magazine 10’s void concrete ceiling was taken away to allow access for decontamination, 144 slabs each weighing 300kg had to be removed. The team applied their learning to the next magazine, where only 27 slabs had to be removed. Strategically-drilled holes provided access for checking contamination, saving time and money. More than 400,000 working hours took place without a lost time accident.

As well as finishing the work early, and achieving major savings, completion marks a long-standing promise to remove all PCM from the site and decommission the facilities.

Bringing about a real change in the site’s skyline, the work by LLWR is a fantastic step towards our strategic outcomes 42 and 43, relating to buildings being decommissioned, demolished or reused.

This activity sits within the Site Decommissioning and Remediation strategic theme

The UK’s earliest nuclear power stations were the Magnox sites, so called because the uranium fuel elements were clad in a non-oxidising magnesium alloy.

Three of our Magnox sites achieved major milestones in their ponds’ decommissioning programme last year.

All Magnox spent fuel ponds are completely different. Some have two ponds and others just one, while some are fairly clean compared to others that are cluttered and highly contaminated. This means the clean-up process is far from ‘one size fits all’.

Workforces at Dungeness A, Oldbury and Sizewell A last year all completed comprehensive programmes to drain and clean their ponds, deploying a variety of technologies and techniques.

Teams of commercial diving specialists from the US were deployed at Dungeness and Sizewell to cut up and retrieve underwater items, while Oldbury’s relatively clean ponds were emptied using morestandard methods.

Operators worked in a challenging radioactive environment to remove empty skips, sludge and other debris before draining off the water.

When operational, Dungeness’s two ponds held 2,000 cubic metres of water, which has now been drained out and filtered. After divers completed their work, a mechanical long-reach grab retrieved remaining items while residual sludge was removed by an industrial-sized wet vacuum cleaner.

At Sizewell, divers cut up 35 skips, 70 tonnes of ponds equipment, collected miscellaneous contaminated and activated items and pumped sludge to a holding tank. A conventional hoist removed pond equipment.

The pond at Oldbury, one of the newest Magnox sites, is the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Along with 40 tonnes of redundant equipment, a variety of wastes have been removed and disposed. Skips here were cut up in air using bespoke steel shielding which protected workers.

This decommissioning milestone is very significant for us in terms of hazard and risk reduction.

Across the 10 Magnox reactor sites, the ponds clean-up programme was anticipated to cost around £300 million. Introducing innovative processes and shared learning have reduced the earlier original estimate by £45 million.

This activity sits within the Critical Enablers: Health, Safety, Security and Environment strategic theme

The health and safety of our people and communities is at the heart of everything we do, with mental wellbeing as important as physical safety.

A cross-NDA group project was launched last year to help everyone feel more able to talk openly about mental health in the workplace and ensure our employees understand how to access help if theyneed it.

In 2019 we reaffirmed the importance of mental health and wellbeing and established a special project with the aim of embedding a strong mental health culture.

Steps along the way to making positive improvement include standardising our various employee assistance programmes, collaborating on national awareness campaigns and developing consistent ways to measure success in this area. Each business has also committed to meet the standards set out in the ‘Thriving at Work’ report and progress is reported at the quarterly performance reviews. Strong leadership is a key factor in ensuring mental health is embedded into our culture and executive sponsorship is in place across businesses, led locally in the NDA Corporate Centre by Adrian Simper, our Strategy and Technology Director. Mental health first aiders have been put in place by most businesses in the group, and we’ve trained 14 in the NDA Corporate Centre.

Their role is to help people to access support and encourage them to speak up about mental health and seek help if needed. We’ve also enlisted the guidance and support of charities like MIND and the Samaritans, with staff across the group fundraising to support their important work.

Early signs are showing that the focus is starting to pay off. A recent survey carried out with staff across the entire NDA group, showed a 30% increase in employees who responded who agreed that mental health is openly discussed in the workplace, compared to two years ago. The survey also showed that 91% of respondents know how to access support if needed – and we’ll be working hard to get this figure up to 100% across our 15,000 strong workforce. Marking the success of the project so far was a major highlight of our first ever NDA group Safety and Wellbeing Awards last year.

Looking ahead to next year, we will be focusing on achieving some more of the ‘Thriving at Work’ report recommendations and effectively measuring wellbeing across the group. We’ll also be increasing awareness and encouraging people to speak openly about mental health through supporting national campaigns.

This activity sits within the Critical Enablers: Public and Stakeholder Engagement strategic theme

Our Mission Progress Report was designed to help communicate the progress we’re making to our stakeholders.

We launched our first iteration of our Mission Progress Report last year, marking the beginning of a whole new approach to talking about our mission, and the progress being made.

Since we began in 2005, the NDA has made excellent progress in dealing with some of the most complex nuclear risks in the world. However, being able to clearly and simply visualise what that progress actually looks like is no small task.

Our work to clean-up and decommission our 17 nuclear sites includes: managing the spent fuels from Magnox reactors, safely transferring and storing radioactive materials in more modern facilities or treating and packaging various types of radioactive waste. This leads us to the ultimate goal of being able to hand back the land we currently own, making it available to communities for other uses.

How do you go about explaining how far we’ve come in all of this, what’s left to do, the priorities and what strategic decisions have to be made on a mission of this size, complexity and uncertainty?

In the two years leading up to publication of our first report we developed a way of telling our story more easily. By breaking down our mission into 47 significant milestones or ‘strategic outcomes’, which all relate to our 4 strategic themes, we were able to start to more easily show where we are along the road to cleaning up our sites.

There are many different ways in which the report describes the progress we’ve made. Some of those include how many buildings we’ve demolished, how much fuel we’ve reprocessed and how much waste we’ve treated and stored. And, for the first time, we’ve used the same metrics for land, buildings and nuclear inventory - providing a clearer and more consistent picture for people to understand.

Developing a really useful engagement tool involves extensive engagement in itself. Mission Progress Reporting is a cross-NDA group project, demonstrating the benefits of working collaboratively. Its creation involved all businesses across the group to ensure we’re telling the whole story.

Regular discussion with and feedback from Government, local authorities, regulators, local stakeholder groups and staff has helped to shape the programme and following publication last year, ensured that the report was communicated clearly.

This method of reporting progress will continue to evolve and at every step, we’ll be looking to our stakeholders for their input and views.

This activity sits within the Critical Enablers: Public and Stakeholder Engagement strategic theme

Such is the complexity and scale of our environmental clean-up programme, our work spans many sites and communities and maintaining strong and productive relationships with our stakeholders is vitally important.

In July last year, we held our third annual stakeholder summit, bringing together over 200 guests from across the UK and overseas to help inform and advance our work with stakeholders and the communities in which we operate.

The summit is a fantastic opportunity to see first-hand the spirit of collaboration that brings together many of the people who are interested in how we’re cleaning up the UK’s earliest nuclear sites. Among the visitors were representatives from around our 17 sites, trade unions, regulators and campaign groups.

The event encourages important dialogue about our work, including how we manage the radioactive waste held on our sites. Guests heard from a number of important speakers on the excellent progress being made on the ground and the challenges being faced. While our plenary sessions saw people from across the NDA group and stakeholders discussing some important issues including the UK’s search for a community that would be willing to host a geological disposal site for higher activity radioactive waste.

The summit was held in the new Coleg Menai on Anglesey in north Wales, a few miles down the road from the home of our Wylfa site. The inspirational facilities are a fantastic example of the NDA’s approach to building sustainable post-nuclear communities around our sites. The project benefited from £4 million of funding from the NDA in 2014 to help create a state-of-the-art engineering and construction centre.

This activity sits within the Critical Enablers: Socio Economics strategic theme

One of the ways in which the NDA unlocks community support, is by flowing funding through our businesses. They in turn can work locally with site communities, to direct support where it can make most difference.

Last year work started in West Somerset on a community-led arts regeneration programme with a £250,000 investment by the NDA and Magnox.

In rural Watchet, west Somerset - around 12 miles away from Magnox’s Hinkley Point A Site - a £6.7 million transformation project is being led in the area by social enterprise Onion Collective CIC, which drives local community-led regeneration to build a stronger economy. The NDA funding has been provided through Magnox towards a substantial local arts regeneration programme, which started in 2019 and is due to complete in 2021.

The project has been developed in extensive collaboration with the Watchet community and council. It will be home to more than 15 entrepreneurs and organisations, including an art gallery, geology workshop, print studio and a hand-made paper-mill. The project will also house an education and project space, a community workshop, office space and expects to create around 52 full time roles as well as a number of apprentices. The project makes use of semi-derelict land on the quayside adjacent to Watchet Marina and the Esplanade.

In agreeing our support for the project, we carefully considered the economic impact for local people. 47 jobs are being created as a result of the programme, including 5 apprenticeships. In addition, it will safeguard 17 other jobs and provide a further 70 in temporary construction positions. The development is estimated to bring in £6 million in additional tourism spend, with an associated 109 indirect jobs, creating a vibrant atmosphere and a buzz on the quayside all year around.

The build began on site in December 2019, and good progress has been made to the foundations with the concrete pour in February and early March. If you would like to find out more about the project, please go to www.onioncollective.co.uk

This activity sits within the Critical Enablers: People strategic theme

Recruiting and retaining the right people to support our mission is a top priority across the NDA group. An important focus is ensuring we are an industry and employer of choice for young people.

Last year we launched our Early Careers Strategy – an important step in developing and attracting the next generation into our industry.

Engaging with young people from an early age is an essential part of inspiring our future nuclear leaders. Our new Early Careers Strategy sets out a pathway of engagement and opportunity, starting at primary school and going right through students’ educational journey and then into their chosen NDA career.

The strategy will see us leading on a number of important projects in the coming years to support exciting, meaningful and rewarding careers for young people. We’ll be working with the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group on the ‘Exciting the Next Generation’ programme. This aims to excite young people about a career in the nuclear sector, help teachers to bring the curriculum on nuclear to life, and provide meaningful careers advice on the huge range of roles and opportunities withinthe sector.

The Nuclear Skills Strategy Group is also developing a brand new digital platform providing a one-stop-shop for nuclear careers which will launch in late 2020.

Our strategy will also see us extending our focus from STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects to STEAM, integrating the Arts for young people. The NDA group offers a range of careers from scientific and technical careers to roles in project management, communications and HR.

The strategy continues our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, seeing these priority areas incorporated into our attraction and recruitment policies. Importantly, our Early Careers Strategy will help us deliver targets set out in the Nuclear Sector Deal, including improving diversity across the sector to achieve 40% female participation in nuclear by 2030. It also reinforces our commitment to recruiting future talent by increasing the numbers of apprentices, graduates and PHD students.

We’re confident as we look ahead to our future skills requirements, that we are developing the NDA group as an attractive and competitive career proposition for young people. Careers and development will be supported to enable the younger generation to grow and thrive and be confident that their talent, skills and dedication are used to support one of the most important environmental clean-up progarammes in the world.

This activity sits within the Critical Enablers: Research and Development strategic theme

The success of our mission depends upon innovation. The ability to overcome challenges depends on novel ways of thinking and developing new technologies.

Last year we launched a new challenge for our supply chain, asking them to bring forward their ideas for tackling a high-hazard decommissioning challenge at Sellafield.

We’re always looking for new solutions to our decommissioning challenges and that’s why we launched our Integrated Innovation in Nuclear Decommissioning (IIND) challenge.

Innovative technology using robotics, virtual reality and 3D imaging is at the forefront of clean-up operations on our nuclear sites. The challenge set was to develop integrated remote or robotic solutions that could access confined spaces, rooms, cells and buildings at Sellafield. We also needed to be able to accurately measure radioactivity levels and deploy robotic equipment to cut up large items, separate the waste and retrieve it for safe storage.

Launched in 2017 with funding from the NDA, Innovate UK and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) totalling £8.5 million over 2 years, competition attracted over 100 businesses. Five collaborative consortia were shortlisted, comprising almost 30 organisations, taking their ideas from drawing board to reality, before the final winners were chosen.

Two winning projects were chosen to take their ideas forward to help tackle the decommissioning of highly radioactive facilities. The two consortia, led by Barrnon and Jacobs are now working towards demonstrating their projects at the nuclear site. They have the potential to enable a step change for nuclear decommissioning and could help to decommission scores of and clean up a number of radioactively contaminated ‘cells’ that were used to reprocess spent nuclear fuel over many decades.

The ideas could also be transferred to different facilities at Sellafield and other nuclear sites with wider applications across other hazardous environments.

The NDA is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body, established by the Energy Act (2004) to oversee and monitor the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK’s civil nuclear legacy. Since then, the NDA’s remit has been extended to include the long-term management of all the UK’s radioactive waste by finding appropriate storage and disposal solutions.

These accounts have been prepared in a form directed by the Secretary of State with the approval of HM Treasury and in accordance with section 26 of the Energy Act (2004).

Directors comprise of the Group CEO, Group CFO and non-executive board members whose details are set out in the Governance Statement.

Directors of the NDA must declare any personal, private or commercial interests. A register of such interests is maintained by the NDA.

Rob Holden declared a commercial interest. He is a Non-Executive Director of NNB Generation Company (SZC) Ltd, Director of Electricity North West Ltd and Director of North West Electricity Networks Ltd and will therefore, be excluded from any involvement with Moorside deliberations.

Michelle Heath is a business consultant who, on occasion, conducts business within the nuclear sector. Conflicts with NDA business are actively avoided, but recent nuclear work with an NDA supplier means Michelle has excluded herself from any discussions regarding the Dounreay site.

All other directors have no personal, private or commercial interests which present material conflicts with their role as a director of the NDA. A full register of Directors’ interests is available at nda.gov.uk.

The NDA is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in accordance with the Energy Act (2004). The services provided by the C&AG relate to statutory audit work for the NDA. No fees were paid to the C&AG for services other than statutory audit work.

NDA employees are eligible to participate in the Civil Service Pension Arrangements. A small number of employees who transferred to the NDA from INS in 2019 continue to accrue benefits in the UKAEA Combined Pension Scheme. Employees within the group participate in various defined benefit pension schemes detailed in note 26 to the accounts.

Group employees also participate in various schemes which are accounted for on a defined contribution basis, with details given in note 26 to the accounts.

The NDA supports the Better Payment Practice Code in its treatment of suppliers with the aim of paying undisputed invoices as soon as possible. The key principles are to settle the terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the transaction, to settle disputes on invoices without delay and to ensure that suppliers are made aware of the terms of payment and to abide by those terms.

During the year, the NDA has achieved a 91.23% success rate for payment of suppliers in accordance with terms (2018/19 – 92.90%). The average number of payment days from invoice date was 31 days and for a valid invoice, (i.e. one with all details correct and entered on the accounting system), 12 days (2018/19 - 32 days and 13 days). The proportion that is the aggregate amount owed to trade creditors at the year-end compared to the aggregate amount invoiced by suppliers expressed as a number of days is 23.49 days (2018/19 – 13.65 days).

As a result of the coronavirus, COVID 19, outbreak the NDA is to comply with the Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 02/2020. The PPN sets out information and guidance for public bodies on payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after the outbreak. Contracting authorities must act now to ensure suppliers at risk are in a position to resume normal contract delivery once the outbreak is over.

There were no data breaches or loss of personal data during 2019/20.

Some disclosures required in the Directors’ Report have been included elsewhere in the Annual Report. Disclosures on equal opportunities, learning and development and how the NDA engages with all staff are in the Remuneration and People Report. Details of investment in socio-economic developments, research and development and funding, counterparty and foreign exchange risk are all included in the financial statements. The NDA’s environmental performance is detailed in the Health Safety, Security, Environment and Wellbeing report.

On 10 July 2020 the NDA announced its decision to acquire the share capital of Dounreay Restoration Services Ltd (DSRL) and Low Level Waste Repository Ltd (LLWR), thereby bringing the companies into the NDA Group in a future reporting period.

A full explanation of the adoption of a going concern basis appears in note 2.1 of the financial statements.

Under Section 26 of the Energy Act 2004, the Secretary of State, with the approval of HM Treasury, has directed the NDA to prepare for each financial year a statement of accounts in the form and on the basis setout in the Accounts Direction.

The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the NDA and of its income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position and cash flows for the financial year.

In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:

The Accounting Officer for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has appointed the Chief Executive Officer as Accounting Officer of the NDA.

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding the NDA’s assets, are set out in Managing Public Money published by HM Treasury.

As the Accounting Officer, I have taken all the reasonable steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that NDA’s auditors are aware of that information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware.

David PeattieAccounting Officer and Chief Executive Officer 13 July 2020

The NDA is sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). UK Government Investments (UKGI) provides strategic oversight of the NDA’s corporate governance and corporate performance, working closely with and reporting directly to BEIS senior officials and providing advice to BEIS Ministers. The formal agreement between the NDA and BEIS is set out in a Framework Document, supported by a Memorandum of Understanding between BEIS and UKGI. The Scottish government also has a governance role, working closely with BEIS to ensure its expectations are met.

The following Governance Statement provides an insight into the corporate governance framework for the NDA and its group entities during 2019/20. The framework is used to measure the performance and effectiveness of the NDA in the delivery of its strategic and operational objectives.

The NDA is governed through: the Energy Act (2004); the Government’s NDA Framework Document; and Cabinet Office guidelines for Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs).

The NDA Board sets the strategic framework and direction for operations and is responsible for ensuring high standards of corporate governance at all times; agrees plans against which the NDA performance is measured; and maintains an appropriate control framework that provides assurances on risk assessment and the application of appropriate controls.

The Board delegates the day-to-day management of the NDA group to an executive team, comprising of two board members: the Group Chief Executive and Accounting Officer and Group Chief Financial Officer; and other executive members. The Chair of the Board is accountable for delivering obligations under Energy Act 2004 and providing effective leadership and direction of the Board. The Group Chief Executive and Accounting Officer is responsible for leadership and operational management of the NDA and is accountable to the Board and Parliament for NDA activities, public funds employed and ensuring targets are met.

The following table sets out the purpose of the board, board committees; and executive committees.

As at 31 March 2020, the NDA Board comprised of seven Non-Executive Members, including the Non-Executive Chair and two executive members, including the Group Chief Executive Officer & Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The table below set out the names of the Board members during the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, their respective terms of office and membership of Board committees.

As at 31 March 2020, the NDA Board comprised of seven Non-Executive Members, including the Non-Executive Chair and two executive members, including the Group Chief Executive Officer & Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The table below set out the names of the Board members during the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, their respective terms of office and membership of Board committees.

Notes:(1) Alex Reeves was appointed to the Board on 1 February 2020 (2) Michelle Heath was appointed to the Board on 1 October 2019(3) Mel Zuydam was appointed to the Board on 6 January 2020(4) David Batters term of office as Chief Financial Officer ended on 11 July 2019.

The following table provides details of Board Member’s attendance at Board and committee meetings during the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

Notes: (1) In attendance only

Tom began his career in the Diplomatic Service, working in London, Hong Kong and Beijing between 1979 and 1990, when he was part of the team that negotiated the 1984 treaty with China on Hong Kong.

In 1990 he joined Trafalgar House plc and held several senior positions before becoming Managing Director of Midland Expressway Ltd in 1997, where he led the development and construction of the M6 Toll, the UK’s first privately financed toll motorway. He subsequently joined the Go-Ahead Group plc as Managing Director Rail Development and in over 10 years was instrumental in turning Go-Ahead into one of the country’s largest passenger rail operators. He was Chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies from 2009 to 2013. He was a Non-Executive Board Member of Highways England from 2014 to 2016.

David began his career at BP in 1979 as a petroleum engineer and, during 33 years at the company, held a number of technical, commercial and senior management positions.

His roles included Head of BP Group Investor Relations, Commercial Director of BP Chemicals, Deputy Head of Global Exploration and Production, Head of BP Group Planning, and finally as Head of BP Russia where he was responsible for BP’s interests in the TNK-BP joint venture as well as its businesses in the Russian Arctic and Sakhalin. In addition, he was BP’s lead Director on the board of TNK-BP and Chairman of its Health, Safety and Environment Committee.

David joined the NDA as Chief Executive Officer & Accounting Officer in March 2017 and in January 2020 David was invited to be Patron of Women in Nuclear, a position he was honored to accept.

Mel is an experienced CFO with a strong track record in financial change, business growth, Mergers & Aquisitions (M&A) and Treasury, and effective performance management in the UK and international infrastructure and engineering sectors.

He’s worked across the private and public sector, with organisations including Balfour Beatty, CH2M, and The Highways Agency, and as a CFO in both the listed environment and with private infrastructure investors such as GIC and JP Morgan.

Mel joined the NDA as Group Chief Financial Officer in January 2020.

Janet worked for BP plc for over 30 years, holding a number of local and global positions in fuel supply, manufacturing, oil trading and retail marketing. She was a senior leader in BP, running BP’s UK retail and commercial fuel business in her last role. Janet was, until the end of 2012, Chief Executive Officer of Harvest Energy Ltd.

Volker was Group Chief Executive Officer of RWE Npower plc until the end of 2012 and prior to this, its Group Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2009.

He has worked as senior leader in RWE’s regulated and non-regulated divisions internationally, grid (transmission and distribution level), retail, generation (including nuclear, conventional and renewable energy) and midstream businesses. Since 2013 Volker has held non-Executive roles in the public and private sector as as well as academia and charities.

Evelyn has extensive human resources experience, leading design and delivery of major change programmes, business restructuring, employee relations, resourcing, executive remuneration, organisational capability and performance management initiatives.

Evelyn has worked in HR consultancy and as HR Director (HR Operations) for Boots the Chemist, before joining Severn Trent’s HR function in November 2006, retiring as Director of HR in 2017.

Rob led the London and Continental Railways (LCR) team in a series of transactions that secured the future of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link later renamed High Speed 1. In 2009 he was awarded a CBE for services to the rail industry.

Rob is a Chartered Accountant with a career background of managing long term projects including the Trafalgar and Vanguard classes of nuclear powered submarines and Crossrail. He now combines his non-executive role with advisory assignments on transport and defence projects both in the UK and overseas.

Alex is a Director in UKGI, having joined its predecessor organisation, the Shareholder Executive, in 2010. Alex has led a variety of corporate finance and corporate governance projects for government, in sectors including aerospace, technology, steel, real estate and asset management. He currently leads on inward M&A, Royal Mail pension assets and other corporate finance projects, and runs UKGI’s NED Forum.

Michelle is an experienced business manager with a career spanning 20 years in the nuclear industry, holding senior positions within BNFL, Springfields Fuels Ltd and Toshiba Westinghouse. She has a range of operational, radiological, commercial and strategic experience and has focused her career on nuclear waste and residue processing.

Michelle is well versed in the challenges of managing this material, and as Global Product Manager for Residues’ Treatment for Westinghouse, has had many successes in developing processing options for a variety of waste types for a diverse range of international stakeholders. Since April 2018, Michelle has been self-employed.Michelle resigned from the Board on 30 June 2020.

A [register of interests](www.gov.uk/government/publications/nda-register-of-directors-interests) for the Board members is maintained and available for the public to view.

The NDA supports high standards of governance and where appropriate, given the size, status and complexity of the organisation, has continued to develop its governance taking account of the principles set out in the Government Code of Corporate Governance and government guidance for an arm’s length body. The NDA currently aspires to follow best practice aspects of the UK Corporate Governance Code which are relevant and applicable to a statutory authority. In 2020/21 the NDA will review how it complies with the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 issued by the Financial Reporting Council. This will be in parallel with further developments under the One NDA framework and the Tailored Review of its governance.

The NDA is committed to having a diverse board in terms of gender, experience, skill, knowledge and background. The biographical details of the Board members together with details of the senior independent member can be found here. All Board and Board Committee meetings held during the year have been quorate. All decisions made by the board and its committees have been approved and recorded appropriately. The Board reviews the effectiveness of the terms of reference of each of its committees on an annual basis in line with best practice. The non-executive members bring a wealth of experience to the Board and complement the executive representation on the Board in the provision of challenge and scrutiny on operational and strategic matters. The Board’s Remuneration Committee determines executive director remuneration and contractual arrangements in line with public sector pay under advice and guidance from HM Treasury and BEIS. The Chair’s and Non-Executive Members’ remuneration is set by BEIS. Further details on the remuneration of the executive members can be found in the Remuneration and People Report.

The Board has a collective responsibility for setting the strategic direction and the effective management of the NDA’s affairs and ensures that it complies with the requirements of the Energy Act (2004), the government’s NDA Framework Document, Cabinet Office guidelines for non-departmental public bodies and other statutory and contractual obligations.

The Board provides effective and proactive leadership within a robust governance framework of clearly defined internal controls and risk management processes. The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee has oversight of and provides challenge to the management and internal control systems and reports its findings to the Board. The Board has a formal schedule of matters reserved for board decisions and sets the NDA’s group vision, values and standards of conduct and behaviour.

The unitary nature of the Board means that non-executive members and executive members share the same responsibility to challenge board decisions and development of the NDA’s strategy and operations. The Board delegates operational management and the execution of strategy to the Group Chief Executive Officer & Accounting Officer and the Executive Team and has established a governance committee structure to provide it with assurance that it is discharging its responsibilities.

All Board members have full and timely access to relevant information to enable them to discharge their responsibilities. The Board places particular emphasis on the quality and integrity of the data submitted for its use. Critical processes and outputs fall within the control of the NDA Assurance Framework and are subject to peer review and/or independent review by the NDA internal audit function which reports to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

The Board met ten times during the year. At each of its meetings the board reviews key performance information, including reports on the NDA’s group performance, operational activity, financial position, forecasts and sensitivities and delivery of its strategic direction; including taking an active role in stakeholder relations and seeking greater engagement with the workforce.

The proceedings at all Board and committee meetings are fully recorded through a process that allows any members’ concerns to be recorded in the minutes and assurances provided. The Board meeting minutes are published on the NDA’s public website. The Board ensures that a balanced assessment of performance is reported to BEIS and regularly reviews the main group strategic risks facing NDA group.

The Board undertakes an annual evaluation of its effectiveness, led by the senior Non-Executive Board Member.

Throughout 2019/20, progress was maintained on the findings from previous reviews including actions to address:

Collective assessments by the Board during 2019/20 agreed that findings are being acted upon and good progress is being made in all key areas. Particular areas of note were:* changes to the composition of the Board to strengthen and further improve effectiveness* agreeing the first NDA group risk appetite profile approved 3rd December 2019* improvements to the business case and sanctions process and * a revised board induction programme.

The Board undertook a number of site visits to Sellafield, Chapelcross and Harwell and has sought greater engagement with the workforce through representation at Joint Consultation Group meetings.

During the year in review, the Board enlisted a senior external female executive as a Board Observer in association with the mentoring foundation.

The Board will continue to review the output and action plan arising from the 2019/20 effectiveness review over the course of 2020 and undertake a further effectiveness review during 2020/21.

The Board has five committees: Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (A&RAC); Nominations Committee (NOMCO); Remuneration Committee (REMCO); Safety and Security Committee (S&SC); and Programmes and Projects Committee (P&PC). Each committee membership is made up of non-executive board members. If executive directors are also members of a Board Committee then the majority members on the committee are non-executive board members maintaining the majority of votes. Each committee is chaired by a Non-Executive Board member with the exception of the Nominations Committee which is chaired by the NDA Chairman. The Group General Counsel and Company Secretary is a standing attendee at all Committee meetings. Each Committee works closely with the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee but reports directly to the Board by way of a committee chair’s report and access to minutes. Urgent matters are escalated by the committee chair to the board as appropriate.

Number of meetings in the year: 6

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee consists of 3 Non-Executive Board Members:

The following persons may also attend the committee meetings:

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee is made up solely of non-executive board members and ensures continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of the financial and risk assurance control frameworks established by the NDA executives.

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee advises the NDA Board on:

During the year, the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee has:

Number of meetings in the year: 2

The Nominations Committee consists of 7 Non-Executive Board Members including the NDA Chair:

The following persons may also attend committee meetings at the invitation of the Chair:

The Nominations Committee advises the NDA Board on the composition and skills of the Board.

During the year, the Nominations Committee has:

Number of meetings in the year: 5

The Remuneration Committee consists of 4 Non-Executive Board members:

The following persons may also attend the committee meetings:

Further details on the work of the Remuneration Committee is contained in the Remuneration and People Report.

Number of meetings in the year: 4

The Safety and Security Committee consists of 5 members (3 of which are Non-Executive Board Members):

The following persons may also attend the committee meetings:

The Safety and Security Committee supports the NDA Board in discharging its responsibilities in respect of issues of health, safety including both nuclear and occupational safety, environment, nuclear safeguards and security in the NDA group.

The primary responsibility for the majority of these issues within the NDA group lies with the businesses and duty holders. In particular the site licence companies have unambiguous responsibility for safety on their sites. However, the NDA has a duty of care over the operation of its whole group and in particular must ensure that the businesses discharge their responsibilities properly.

The Safety and Security Committee advises the NDA Board on:

During the year the Safety and Security Committee has:

The Committee’s routine business this year has been to scrutinise the management of health, safety, security, environment and wellbeing risks and performance across the NDA group. Performance is benchmarked against relevant industry sectors, including high hazard, manufacturing, and energy, oil and gas.

From time to time, and as considered necessary, the Committee will receive reports from group businesses on events and accidents. This year, the Committee received detailed reports from Sellafield Ltd and LLWR Ltd on their improvement programmes.

The Committee also receives and commissions independent reports from NDA’s in-house HSE and security and resilience teams, including trend analysis and reports of work undertaken by the NDA to promote high standards and encourage collaboration.

Number of meetings in the year: 8

The Programmes and Projects Committee consists of 4 members, 2 of which are Non-Executive Board Members:

The following persons may also attend committee meetings:

The Programmes and Projects Committee provides additional oversight and scrutiny of Major Programmes and Projects within the NDA group. This includes but is not limited to: programmes and projects relating to engineering, procurement and construction, information technology, telecommunications, security, and real estate development. The Committee supplements Board oversight; it is not intended to supplant it.

The Programmes and Projects Committee advises the NDA Board on:

During the year, the Programmes and Projects Committee has:

David began his career at BP in 1979 as a petroleum engineer and, during 33 years at the company, held a number of technical, commercial and senior management positions.

His roles included Head of BP Group Investor Relations, Commercial Director of BP Chemicals, Deputy Head of Global Exploration and Production, Head of BP Group Planning, and finally as Head of BP Russia where he was responsible for BP’s interests in the TNK-BP joint venture as well as its businesses in the Russian Arctic and Sakhalin. In addition, he was BP’s lead Director on the board of TNK-BP and Chairman of its Health, Safety and Environment Committee.

David joined the NDA as Chief Executive Officer & Accounting Officer in March 2017 and in January 2020 David was invited to be Patron of Women in Nuclear, a position he was honoured to accept.

Mel is an experienced CFO with a strong track record in financial change, business growth, M&A and Treasury, and effective performance management in the UK and International Infrastructure and Engineering sectors.

He’s worked across the private and public sector, with organisations including Balfour Beatty, CH2M, and The Highways Agency, and as a CFO in both the listed environment and with private infrastructure investors such as GIC and JP Morgan.

Mel joined the NDA as Group Chief Financial Officer in January 2020.

Alan Cumming joined the NDA as Group Director of Nuclear Operations in April 2018. He has responsibility for all operations, including health and safety.

A Chartered Civil Engineer and a Chartered Structural Engineer, Alan completed his nuclear training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and has an MBA from Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow.

Before joining the NDA, Alan was Capital Projects and Engineering Director for Viridor, part of Pennon, Deputy Project Director for EDF Energy’s New Build Nuclear Programme and Director of Projects for British Energy.

Kate joined the NDA in November 2017 from the Ministry of Justice, where she was Commercial Director for Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Kate brings a wealth of valuable commercial knowledge and experience to NDA.

Previously, Kate was with BP for 22 years. She held several senior roles with the organisation, including Commercial Director of BP Shipping.

Neil is a senior executive lawyer, general counsel and company secretary with more than 25 years of international experience.

Neil joined the NDA in October 2019 and brings a wealth of experience, from advising and working with organisations including Royal Mail and General Electric.

Jeremy joined the NDA in October 2018, following four years at HS2 Ltd.

Jeremy worked in the rail industry for 22 years. He pioneered early thinking on safety risk and then went on to lead on project and corporate risk. This included setting the standards and policies for risk management and value management, across the infrastructure projects on the national rail network.

Jeremy chaired the UK Risk Management Committee for BSI and supported government initiatives to improve risk management across major projects.

Frank joined the NDA in February 2017 and is currently responsible for security, cyber, information governance, ICT, CEO Office, the Project Management Office and the provision of other Corporate Centre services.

Prior to joining the NDA, Frank spent three years as the executive responsible for the GE Aviation Aerostructures business in the UK and previously spent 21 years with BAE Systems and predecessor companies in the UK and Saudi Arabia, holding several senior roles including Transformation and Project Management Director. Frank studied at Lancaster University gaining an MBA and MSc in Project Management.

Adrian joined the nuclear industry in research and development at Sellafield. His subsequent career has included strategic roles in research and development, technology, project delivery, commercial and finance both in the UK and the US.

Adrian joined the NDA in October 2005, he is also the NDA Group Mental Health Champion. He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours’ list, recognising his services to the UK nuclear industry in Japan.

Duncan has a mechanical and environmental engineering background with management experience gained over 27 years in the UK and overseas. He has worked for The London Stock Exchange, Ford, British Overseas Aid and Unicef and as a management consultant he worked with companies including National Grid Transco, Railtrack and BP.

From 2014 he led the work to bring Sellafield in as a subsidiary of the NDA and then, as Sellafield Programme Director, embedded and ran those subsidiary arrangements. In April 2019 Duncan took on the new role of NDA Group Development Director, responsible for development and implementation of a group structure that best delivers our mission.

Paul began his career at BNFL, becoming Group Communications Director. He joined the NDA in June 2016 from Rolls-Royce, where he held a number of senior positions. Paul was part of the executive team that established Rolls-Royce’s nuclear sector, which included both the Civil Nuclear and Submarines businesses. Paul was also the customer lead for a number of Rolls-Royce’s key commercial relationships.

David has a wealth of experience within the industrial sector having held a series of senior HR leadership roles in TATA Steel in Europe, BAE Systems and GEC Alsthom. Roles have included HR Director for the TATA Steelmaking Operations in South Wales and HR Director for Shipbuilding and Support business across Glasgow and Portsmouth within BAE systems.

David joined the NDA in April 2014 and plays a leading role in skills as a Board member for the ECITB (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board), deputy chair for the Nuclear National Skills Strategy Group and vice chair for the National College for Nuclear.

The Group Chief Executive and Accounting Officer is responsible for leadership and operational management of the NDA and is accountable to the Board and Parliament for implementing the strategy and plans approved by the Board and BEIS.

The Group Chief Executive and Accounting Officer is supported by an Executive team (the “Executive”) comprising of: Group Chief Financial Officer; Group Director of Nuclear Strategy and Technology; Group Director of Nuclear Operations; Group Human Resources Director; Director of Group Development; Group Director of Risk and Assurance; Group Commercial Director; Group Communications and Stakeholder Relations Director; Group Security and Corporate Services Director, and General Counsel and Company Secretary. Biographies of each can be found here.

The Executive has in place a meeting governance structure that aligns with that of the Board and the roles of each are set in the Governance Statement. The Executive Committees meet monthly over a two-day period.

The NDA has strong financial controls to ensure it remains within its budgetary spend for 2019/20 of £3.2 billion. It has well-defined delegated authority and a clear budgetary framework. The system remains effective with no significant issues identified by internal or external audit during the year.

Control of programmes and projects across the group is exercised by the Executive through the Sanction Committee and Board Programmes and Projects Committee.

Effective management of risk enables us to achieve our mission of decommissioning the UK’s nuclear legacy safely, securely and cost-effectively.

Risk management is a key decision making tool for the NDA group. This allows us to proactively identify the opportunities and threats that are relevant to our business. To achieve our business objectives requires minimising and managing the impact of threats, maximising and exploiting our opportunities and ensuring that the risks are considered proportionately when taking business decisions. Embedding risk management at the heart of our decision making will be achieved by establishing a positive risk culture, where open and transparent discussion of risk forms part of everyday business. We will lead this by:

The Board is ultimately accountable for NDA risks. All staff across the NDA group businesses have a duty to make sure risks in their areas of responsibility are identified, managed and reported. The responsibilities of our site licence companies are defined clearly through the regulatory framework.

The NDA requires all parts of the group to align risk processes, appetite, procedures and documents to enable a consistent picture of the group’s risk landscape and profile.

The identification and management of strategic and delivery risks, demonstrates that the NDA has robust planning, forecasting and control of risks. This supports the prioritisation for our assurance activities.

A review of the risk management framework carried out by a secondee from the British Business Bank during 2018/19 highlighted areas of weakness. These findings, combined with the experience of the incoming Group Director of Risk and Assurance, have led to the development of a significant risk management improvement plan. The plan includes development of a structured and integrated risk appetite approach, collaborative work to develop a common risk management framework across the NDA group, improvements to forecasting and contingency management and a systemic and holistic consideration of risk.

During the first half of the year NDA were reporting Corporate Strategic Risks (CSRs). In October 2019 NDA redefined its Strategic Risks to be Group Strategic Risks (GSRs).

The group risks and group strategic risks are the most significant risks to the NDA group. The criteria for consideration are as follows:

Group Risks:

Group Strategic Risks:

The CSRs were used as a baseline in redefining the GSRs and this mapping can be seen in the table opposite.

NDA businesses present their top risks and explain their management of them through the Quarterly Performance Review process. In addition, the NDA Corporate Centre risk team is engaging in additional challenge and assurance in relation to risks across the businesses. These may be subject to Board Committee deep dive, an example being a particular safety risk from our Sellafield business.

Our overarching risk management framework provides for the recognition and escalation of emerging risks. Our collaborative work across the NDA group businesses, with the Heads of Risk, has developed significantly this year as well as Corporate Centre focus with Risk Champions. This has included collective identification of joint risks and sharing on emerging / evolving risks. This will continue as the group-wide risk management framework matures.

The NDA Group Security and Corporate Services Director has responsibility for the information governance, information and communications technology, security and cyber strategies across the NDA group. This covers all aspects of:

The NDA Corporate Centre Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) and the Security and Corporate Services Lead Team have continued to provide effective leadership and management of information risks and issues arising across the nuclear estate. This includes leadership and governance of a number of group-wide programmes, all of which have delivered key benefits. During the last year, we have reduced risk across the NDA group by:

Progress continues to be made across the group with respect to compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations. All organisations are implementing measures in order to address the legacy data sets that they are responsible for.

The cross-group SIRO forum, comprising senior NDA staff and Directors from all of our businesses who are responsible for managing information risk, meet regularly to provide governance of assurance programmes and audit performance reviews in these areas. These assessments and reviews, in turn, provide assurance to key stakeholders including the Regulatory community, the NDA Board, BEIS and other Government departments and agencies.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires organisations with a global turnover above £36 million to publish an annual slavery and human trafficking statement disclosing what steps are being taken to ensure modern slavery is not taking place in any of their business or supply chains.

Our activities to combat slavery and trafficking are risk based and correspond to the level of risk identified. We know our biggest risk is within our indirect, group-wide supply chain. We expect suppliers to adhere to the same high standards as the NDA.

We have benchmarked our processes against best practice elsewhere. Clauses have been inserted into the NDA standard terms and conditions requiring suppliers to comply with the anti-slavery legislation and we expect our businesses and supply chain to do the same and have added wording to NDA tender documents to draw attention to the NDA’s zero tolerance stance on slavery issues. Existing tender documentation includes the mandatory exclusion of any bidder who has been convicted of an offence under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Around 700 organisations are signed up to our Supply Chain Charter and the revisions regarding compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 are being highlighted to each supplier.

In compliance with the legislation, the NDA produces and publishes an annual statement, approved by the Board, which sets out the NDA’s position on modern slavery, its understanding of the risks and implications, and the steps that it is taking to mitigate the risks and ensure that slavery and human trafficking do not exist within the NDA or within its supply chains.

As of March 2020, no instance of slavery or human trafficking has been identified.

As Accounting Officer, I have responsibility for ensuring the System of Internal Control and its effectiveness are both sound. I am also personally accountable for safeguarding the public funds allocated to the NDA, as well as departmental assets, in line with the HM Treasury publication ‘Managing Public Money’. Support for these activities is provided by the NDA internal audit function, the external auditors (the National Audit Office) and other assurance functions, both within the NDA and across the group.

In accordance with Treasury guidance, the NDA System of Internal Control has been in place for the period commencing 1 April 2019 up to the approval date for the Annual Report and Accounts. The system is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level while complying with relevant rules and regulations.

It is impossible to eliminate all risk of failure in implementing policies, aims and objectives; therefore the system provides assurance of effectiveness to a level that is reasonable rather than absolute. My Executive team members are responsible for developing and maintaining the Internal Control Framework in their own functional areas. Oversight and challenge to the system is provided by the Board and also by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, who ensure plans are in place to address any weaknesses.

Significant reliance is placed on those controls operated by businesses across the group. In line with government requirements, the NDA Modelling and Analysis Team tests the robustness of the end-to-end process used in developing all the group’s business-critical models and spreadsheets that influence the NDA’s key business decisions.

The NDA is compliant with the implementation of the MacPherson Review of Quality Assurance (QA) of Government Analytical Models and has AQuA Book compliant processes in place.

During 2018/19 I appointed a group head of internal audit, with a particular focus on aligning and improving audit and advisory services across the group in support of the strengthened Audit and Risk Assurance Committee oversight. This year, the further development and implementation of a ‘virtual’ group internal audit function and target operating model has improved the quality and consistency of group-wide arrangements and has also further supported our overall visibility, understanding and ongoing improvement of matters of corporate governance, risk management and internal control. In 2018/19 we also implemented an NDA compliance function and compliance leads are now in place across the group. The identification of specific compliance-related risks (including potential non-compliance with any aspect of the suite of mandated requirements placed via BEIS and/or infringements of the current group Codes of Conduct) and the implementation of mitigation strategies and actions is underway. Our Audit and Risk Assurance Committee has continued to strengthen relationships and arrangements with the group’s supporting Audit and Oversight Committees at the subsidiaries and site licence companies, evidenced by the group-wide representation and input at our NDA Group Internal Audit Conference this year.

During 2019/20, our group internal audit function collated and reported against a group internal audit plan for the first time. We introduced the concept of group audit themes; an aligned approach to the review of significant group-wide risks and controls. This is providing valuable and strengthened oversight of pervasive challenges and examples of good practice for sharing. Key themes this year included our response to the evolving cyber risk and EU Exit and improving our contract management arrangements. The internal audit work for 2019/20 was further designed to provide assurance over key business processes, along with specific corporate and business risks. The findings from the internal audit reports across the group receive close attention from both the Executive team and the Board via the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

In line with the standard ratings of the Government Internal Audit Agency, NDA’s Group Head of Internal Audit has provided an overall rating of ’moderate’ to the level of assurance that there is generally a sound framework of governance, risk management and control, both within the NDA and the wider group. This view is based on the work of internal audit, including oversight of the various assurance activities undertaken by the NDA, its subsidiaries and site licence companies and through engagement with the Internal Audit functions of the businesses.

2019/20 NDA internal audit reviews completed at the Corporate Centre by the year end were assigned ratings as follows: ‘no assurance’ 0%, ‘limited assurance’ 0%, ‘moderate assurance’ 8%, ‘high level of assurance’ 46% and ‘substantial assurance’ 46%. This represents a ‘substantial’ and improved level of assurance against the NDA’s results from the previous year. However, a number of ‘no’ ‘limited’ and ‘moderate ‘assurance ratings have continued to be reported across the broader group. There has also been a particular focus this year on the follow-up of audit recommendations and the timeliness of action implementation across the group.

Areas identified by internal audit reviews as requiring further strengthening included our response to evolving risks around information governance, particularly in response to the cyber threat and the General Data Protection Regulation. Internal Audit reviews also highlighted the need for further improvement in our contract management, risk management and sanctioning activities along with our information, communications and technology arrangements. Addressing these topics with a group-wide approach to risk and control is not only strengthening oversight but also enabling a collaborative and consistent approach to the development and implementation of improvement activities. Business operating processes, including financial, internal procurement and HR controls were generally found to be robust.

I have also been mindful of the ongoing work by several important bodies examining the Magnox procurement and the Magnox transition; namely the NAO, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee and the Magnox Inquiry, and our response to their findings.

Looking forward, and in light of the current global COVID-19 crisis, internal audit has an important role to play as an advisor and assurer to the business and to guide decision-making at the highest level. As the crisis evolves over time, it is important to plan for disruption and adjust our focus and ways of working accordingly. Our internal audit function will need to ensure they are focusing on what is going to be of most value to the organisation as well as ensuring an appropriate assurance response to new and changing risks. Some of our planned reviews will need to be deferred and replaced with more hands-on advisory support from Internal Audit in order to ensure the business response is robust and appropriate.

On balance, as Accounting Officer, I am therefore confident that the system of internal control operating throughout the past year is effective, and appropriate to meet the NDA’s objectives. In reaching this conclusion, I have taken advice from the Group Head of Internal Audit and the Group Chief Compliance Officer.

David PeattieAccounting Officer and Chief Executive Officer 13 July 2020

The primary role of the Remuneration Committee is to ensure that an effective remuneration policy is in place. This enables the NDA to attract, reward and incentivise executives with the right skills and expertise to successfully deliver our important goals.

Number of meetings in the year: 5

The Remuneration Committee consists of 4 Non-Executive Board members:

The following persons may also attend the committee meetings:

The Remuneration Committee determines the remuneration and terms of service of the Chief Executive and executive directors including individual salaries, setting and assessing performance targets, the outturn of performance related pay and arrangements for joiners and leavers.

For the avoidance of doubt , the remit of the NDA Remuneration Committee does not include the NDA subsidiaries.

Last year, the Remuneration Committee:

Attracting and retaining high-calibre executives is critical in delivering the NDA’s mission and ensuring true value for money.

Remuneration arrangements that are competitive in the markets in which we compete for talent are essential. They must reflect appropriate market rates to attract and retain key skills and experience.

Executive rewards should rightly acknowledge the professional expertise needed to address the challenge of UK nuclear decommissioning, while also providing value for taxpayers in a constrained economic climate.

The challenges for the NDA’s leadership range from setting future strategy to optimising delivery of decommissioning plans across the NDA group portfolio.

These challenges require business and specialised technical expertise. Such skills inevitably command a premium and this competitive market is intensified by increasing demands from the international nuclear sector, as well as from major infrastructure projects in the UK and overseas.

The Committee routinely seeks independent advice on remuneration using Korn Ferry and, in reaching its conclusions, assesses both public and private sector data. This helps to set a level of reward that ensures we can confidently attract and retain the skills needed to deliver our mission.

Non-executive board directors are appointed by the Secretary of State for BEIS in conjunction with Scottish Ministers following consultation with the NDA Chair and in line with the Commission of Public Appointments Codes of Practice.

The remuneration of the Chief Executive and executive directors comprises base pay, car allowance, an annual performance-related payment, a LTIP and pension entitlements.

In setting salaries this year, the Committee has noted pay increases across the private sector and the demands on public spend. The pay increase for 2019/20 was set at 2%, taking into consideration pay increases across the NDA and the wider public sector.

Executive awards are linked to achieving personal and corporate objectives, both aligned to our Corporate Plan. Objectives are approved at the beginning of the financial year by the Board.

The aim of performance related pay is to incentivise improved performance and increase engagement in activities to deliver on longer-term outcomes.

The NDA’s LTIP scheme is subject to the achievement of objectives which are long-term, strategically important, quantifiable and subject to the leadership of the NDA.

An LTIP Award is made at the start of each 3-year LTIP period. It’s subject to a multiplier that can either increase or decrease depending on performance against targets and improvements to the Operating Plan as determined by the Remuneration Committee. Progress against LTIP targets are reviewed regularly as part of Remuneration Committee meetings.

A decision on payment of the LTIP scheme for 2015 to 2018 has been deferred pending the outcome of the Magnox Inquiry.

Pension benefits are provided through the Civil Service Pension Arrangements. From 1 April 2015 a new pension scheme for public/ civil servants was introduced. The Public/ Civil Servants and Others Pension Scheme or alpha, provides benefits on a career average basis with a normal pension age equal to the member’s State Pension Age or 65 if higher. From that date all newly appointed public/ civil servants and the majority of those already in service, joined alpha. Prior to that date, public/ civil servants participated in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The PCSPS has four sections: 3 providing benefits on a final salary basis (classic, premium or classic plus) with a normal pension age of 60; and one providing benefits on a whole career basis (nuvos) with a normal pension age of 65.

These statutory arrangements are unfunded with the cost of benefits met by monies voted by Parliament each year. Pensions payable under existing schemes - Classic, Premium, Classic Plus and Nuvos are currently increased annually in line with the Pensions Increase Legislation.

Pension benefits for Executive members are provided through the Civil Service Pension Arrangements.

Employees are automatically enrolled into alpha on appointment to employment at the NDA. This is in line with the auto enrolment rules of the Pensions Act 2008. They do, however have the ability to opt out of the scheme at any time or elect to join the Partnership Pension Arrangements offered under the Civil Service Pension Arrangements.

Another benefit and option available is under the automatic enrolment legislation, where employers no longer have a duty to automatically enrol a new employee where they have reason to believe that employee has registered for fixed protection in relation to lifetime allowance and requires them not to participate in future pension provision. In these cases, such as the CEO, a pension allowance is paid in lieu.

A small number of employees who transferred to the NDA from INS in 2019 continue to accrue benefits in the UKAEA Combined Pension Scheme (CPS). The UKAEA CPS provides benefits on a final salary basis with a normal retirement age of 60. This is an unfunded statutory arrangement with the cost of benefits met by monies voted by Parliament each year. Pensions payable are currently increased annually in line with the Pensions Increase Legislation.

Benefits are listed in the Directors’ Emoluments table with appropriate footnotes. All Executive members receive £12,000 per annum as a car allowance.

The remuneration of the Chairman and Non-Executive Board Directors is determined by BEIS. Non-Executive Board Directors are not involved in decisions relating to their own remuneration and are entitled to fees of £25,000 per annum.

Those who chair board committees also receive a fee supplement, details of which can be found in the table below. The Chair does not receive a supplement for chairing the Nominations Committee. Non-executive board directors and the Chair don’t receive performance-related bonuses or pension entitlements but are reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as directors.

Details of directors’ emoluments, pension and cash equivalent transfer values may be seen in the notes to the financial statements and appendices at the end of this section. Details on the gender pay gap can be found in the [People report] (#people-report).

Ratio between median earnings of organisation’s workforce and highest paid Director (‘Hutton’ Disclosure) This information has been audited.

The above table shows the ratio of the highest earning director against that of the employee at the median in earnings, as well as the range. The change in ratio results from an increase of highest paid director remuneration.

Our people are the greatest asset to our mission. Attracting, retaining and deploying the right skills at the right time are critical. That means providing great places to work where our people feel respected, included and able to perform at their best. The following section provides an update on the important progress we’ve made on our ‘people’ critical enabler in 2019/20.

Last year we made some important improvements to our People Strategy, which has three main focus areas:

The strategy was developed in collaboration with our businesses across the NDA group and a range of external stakeholders. One NDA is enabling us to collaborate meaningfully and effectively on developing a thriving workforce for the future.

Important progress was made across all three of the above focus areas last year. The launch of our Early Years’ Career Strategy, outlined in more detail here, was an important step forward in setting out our plans to attract the next generation to the NDA group. It’s important that we continue to attract the brightest and most committed people to be part of our mission, and over the past year, we’ve increased the numbers of apprentices and graduates we recruit across the NDA group. Looking forward we’re committed in 2020/21, to exploring the creation of a One NDA graduate scheme. Working with the NSSG, we’re also supporting the ‘Exciting the next generation’ scheme and the development of a digital nuclear careers platform for young people.

Capitalising on the One NDA approach, we held our first ever CEO Talent Forum last year. This brought the leaders of all our businesses together to discuss the strategic approach to managing talent across our group. We’ve continued in 2019/20 to develop a progressive approach to mobility and transferability across the NDA group and wider nuclear industry - supporting meaningful careers, ongoing professional development, talent management, succession planning and progression. This will enable us to continue to recruit and retain a highly skilled and talented workforce which is able to deliver the current and future decommissioning mission.

Another first last year, was the One NDA Trade Union Forum. Part of our new agreed engagement approach for working with our trade union colleagues, we’ve been able to further build upon already strong relationships. This is a key enabler for supporting and engaging with our people.

One NDA is also enabling us to work together as a group to build great places to work, which are diverse and inclusive. Organisations that put diversity and inclusivity at their core attract and retain the best people who perform better and are more successful. Creating an environment where differences of thought and perspective are encouraged isn’t just the right thing to do - it’s also good for our business.

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group Strategy, launched in May 2018, set out the NDA group approach to creating a culture of respect, inclusion and diversity. Over the last year we’ve focused on updating some important policies to ensure they support our ambition to be a diverse and inclusive employer.

In addition, our diversity and respect at work policies outline the rights of all employees, as well as the responsibility on all employees to comply with equality legislation. In line with our policies, we work hard to support all individuals who are disabled. This includes those seeking employment with the NDA, as well as those employees who have become recently disabled. In doing this:

we are a ‘disability confident’ employer we give full and fair consideration to applications for employment, where all screening and assessment is carried out in line with our recruitment standards and with reference to the candidate’s aptitudes and abilities we make reasonable adjustments and arrange appropriate training for employees who are disabled, or have become recently disabled, in order to support their continuing employment, training, career development and promotion.

As with other public sector organisations, in 2019/20 we published our annual gender pay gap data. Within the NDA group, the figures published as at March 2020 showed the overall average gender pay gap, when comparing mean pay, to be 13.3 % and the average median pay gap 12.7%. This compares to figures last year of a mean pay gap of 13.1 % and the median pay gap 11.2%.

Our challenge is ensuring we continue to see sustained improvements over the next few years and a number of senior female appointments have been made in the last year. David Peattie, our CEO, was appointed Patron of Women in Nuclear (WiN) in January 2020 and will promote the need for better gender balance across our sector.

The NDA Corporate Centre engaged in an organisational redesign to increase confidence, capacity and capability in delivering our Vision to support its role of leading, governing, sharing and engaging across the group. The organisational redesign covered the entire NDA Corporate Centre and resulted in a change to around 20% of roles with no compulsory redundancies and all exits managed on a voluntary basis.

NDA Corporate Centre remains committed to a partnership working approach with our recognised Trade Union, Prospect. Regular and constructive Joint Consultation Group (JCG) meetings have taken place throughout the year. Our partnership approach has ensured positive relations have endured during some challenging times, constructive challenge and joint working has continued throughout. Every 6 months, a Non-Executive Director attends the JCG on behalf of the Board.

NDA Group staff costs:(This information has been audited)

(a) Authority people costs are included within administration expenditure (see note 5 to the accounts). The increase in total spend compared to the previous year was due to further improvements driven by One NDA with the action of increasing our capability and capacity in critical skills areas.(b) Subsidiary people costs are reported through the ‘contractor and subsidiary costs’ line in the Financial Statements (see note 6 to the accounts).

The Group participates in various pension schemes, both defined contribution and defined benefit.Further details can be found in note 26 to the Accounts.

Pension costs include only those items appearing within operating costs. Items reported elsewhere have been excluded.

The average number of full-time equivalent persons employed during the year as follows:

Of the total NDA permanent and fixed term employees at the end of March 2020, the breakdown bygender is as follows:

As a public body, the NDA adheres to the IR35 regulations in deeming if any temporary roles will be captured within the legislation or deemed out of scope of the legislation. In determining this information, we use the IR35 checker provided by HMRC on www.gov.uk. We are required to provide information about off-payroll appointments of consultants, contractors or people employed for longer than 6 months. We only use these arrangements where we can’t avoid them, for example to bring in unique skills, capability and experience that we do not have in-house.

We look to minimise the use of these arrangements and include contractual clauses in appointment documentation to enable us to receive assurance that the individual or their employer is managing their tax affairs appropriately. Our right to request assurance over tax obligations is made explicit to all off-payroll workers.

Our off-payroll appointments at 31 March 2020 for those individuals on more than £220 per day and lasting more than 6 months (up until the expected end date – not 31 March 2020) are detailed below. There were 6 new off-payroll workers in the year whose assignments lasted more than 6 months (between start (after 1 April 2019) up to 31 March 2020 (not end of contract). No senior management were paid through off payroll arrangement during this reporting period.

Consultancy spend in the year was £nil (2018/19: £1,942,200).

The NDA recognises that health and wellbeing at work is vital. We closely monitor both short-term and long-term sickness absence and have policies and support mechanisms in place. This includes access to an external employee assistance service (EAP), helping us manage and support individuals back to work.

For 2019/20 an average of 6 days per employee was lost to sickness absence. This equates to an absence rate of 2.4% and is more than the national average of 4.4 days. An analysis of 2019/20 total absence identifies that mental health contributed to the majority of long-term absences.

Our focus for the coming year is to further promote mental health and wellbeing as we work closely with the NDA ED&I Group sharing best practice and innovative ways of raising awareness.

Another focus will be on the absence management process which will be reviewed and advertised around the business together with training sessions to all line managers on recording and managing absence.

The average length of service is 6 years and for the year 2019/20 turnover of permanent people was 15.5%. This compares to an average external turnover rate of 16.5% (as per latest CIPD survey).

(This information to be subject to an audit)

During 2019/20, 29 employees were part of the voluntary exit package as a result of the Organisational Design with a further 5 expected by 31st July 2020.

In 2018/19 there were no exit packages.

Employee contributions are set at the rate shown in the table below:

Employee membership of the schemes in the NDA is noted in the table below:

Existing members of the PCSPS who were within 10 years of their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 remained in the PCSPS after 1 April 2015. Those who were between 10 years and 13 years and 5 months from their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 will switch into alpha sometime between 1 June 2015 and 1 February 2022. All members who switch to alpha have their PCSPS benefits ‘banked’, with those with earlier benefits in one of the final salary sections of the PCSPS having those benefits based on their final salary when they leave alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the official has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes.) Members joining from October 2002 may opt for either the appropriate defined benefit arrangement or a ‘money purchase’ stakeholder pension with an employer contribution (partnership pension account).

Employee contributions are salary-related and range between 4.6% and 8.05% for members of classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos and alpha. Benefits in classic accrue at the rate of 1/80th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. In addition, a lump sum equivalent to three years initial pension is payable on retirement.

For premium, benefits accrue at the rate of 1/60th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. Unlike classic, there is no automatic lump sum. classic plus is essentially a hybrid with benefits for service before 1 October 2002 calculated broadly as per classic and benefits for service from October 2002 worked out as in premium. In nuvos a member builds up a pension based on his pensionable earnings during their period of scheme membership. At the end of the scheme year (31 March) the member’s earned pension account is credited with 2.3% of their pensionable earnings in that scheme year and the accrued pension is uprated in line with Pensions Increase legislation. Benefits in alpha build up in a similar way to nuvos, except that the accrual rate is 2.32%. In all cases members may opt to give up (commute) pension for a lump sum up to the limits set by the Finance Act 2004.

The partnership pension account is a stakeholder pension arrangement. The employer makes a basic contribution of between 8% and 14.75% (depending on the age of the member) into a stakeholder pension product chosen by the employee from a panel of providers. The employee does not have to contribute, but where they do make contributions, the employer will match these up to a limit of 3% of pensionable salary (in addition to the employer’s basic contribution). Employers also contribute a further 0.5% of pensionable salary to cover the cost of centrally-provided risk benefit cover (death in service and ill health retirement).

The accrued pension quoted is the pension the member is entitled to receive when they reach pension age, or immediately on ceasing to be an active member of the scheme if they are already at or over pension age. Pension age is 60 for members of classic, premium and classic plus, 65 for members of nuvos and State Pension Age for members of alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the official has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes, but note that part of that pension may be payable from different ages.)

(This information has been audited)

(i) Salary £25,000 per annum, 2018/19 & 2019/20 included fees of £5,000 for the role Chair of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee.

(ii) Salary £25,000 per annum, 2018/19 & 2019/20 included fees of £5,000 for the role Chair of the Remuneration Committee.

(iii) Salary £25,000 per annum, 2018/19 & 2019/20 included fees of £5,000 for the role Chair of the Safety and Security Committee.

(iv) Salary £25,000 per annum, 2018/19 & 2019/20 included fees of £5,000 for the role Chair of the Programmes and Projects Committee.

(v) Did not receive any remuneration for services to the board

(vi) Joined the board 01/10/19, salary £25,000 per annum

(vii) Resigned with effect from 31/08/19. Additional benefits received was a car allowance of £5,000, compensation for unused annual leave £13,523 19/20

(viii) Joined as an Executive Board Director from 06/01/20. Additional benefits received was a car allowance of £2,839.

(ix) Additional benefits received was a car allowance of £12,000, and a pension allowance of £49,118 (2018/19: £46,111)

(x) Pension benefits within the PCSPS schemes and alpha are calculated as 20 times the real increase during the year, plus the real increase in lump sum, less employee contributions made, in accordance with HMG guidelines.

(xi) The Executive Directors have surrendered 20% of their earned bonus for the year 19/20, in recognition of the COVID crisis and its financial implications.

(This information has been audited)

Notes: *Does not participate in the Civil Service Pension arrangements – see note (viii) to Directors’ Emoluments

A cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) is the actuarially assessed capitalised value of the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the scheme.

A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued in their former scheme.

The pension figures shown relate to the benefits accrued by the individual as a consequence of their total membership of the pension scheme, not just their service in a senior capacity to which disclosure applies. The figures include the value of any pension benefits in another scheme or arrangement which the individual has transferred to the Civil

Service Pension Arrangements and for which the Civil Superannuation Vote (CS Vote) has received a transfer payment commensurate with the additional pension liabilities being assumed.

They also include any additional pension benefit accrued to the member as a result of their purchasing additional years of pension service in the scheme at their own cost. CETVs are calculated within the guidelines and framework prescribed by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

This reflects the increase in CETV effectively funded by the employer. It does not include the increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions paid by the employee (including the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme or arrangements) and uses common market valuation factors for the start and end of the period.

Percentage of time spent on facility time.

Percentage of the working hours spent by relevant union officials, employed during the relevant period, on facility time.

The safety of people, protection of the environment and wellbeing of staff alongside security of nuclear materials and information are NDA’s overriding priorities and dictate our approach to all activities across the Group.

NDA’s safety performance continued to be good, with no serious accidents or injuries during the year.

The total recordable injury rate (TRIR) has reduced this financial year from 0.29 to 0.28 reflecting improved performance from our Sellafield and Magnox subsidiaries. This is a good performance signaling that the Magnox transition from parent body organisation to wholly owned subsidiary of the NDA has not adversely affected safety performance.

This year, we’ve continued the process of streamlining and simplifying our documents in line with Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidance and our One NDA approach.

We’ve developed a 3 year Health, Safety Environment and Wellbeing (HSEW) improvement plan in collaboration with all of the NDA group HSEW Directors. The plan includes a number of leading and lagging indicators which will be used to measure performance improvement.

We also held our inaugural Health, Safety & Wellbeing Awards to celebrate achievements across the group in 2019. The awards were attended by a cross section of over 200 staff from across the group companies including safety representatives, supervisors, managers and executives. They were extremely well received and are the subject of a case study elsewhere in this report.

Our approach to sustainability will be a focus area for the coming year, working collaboratively across the group. This will enable us to support the Government’s target of being carbon neutral by 2050. Our aim is to benchmark the carbon footprint across the group and develop the strategy, policy and a roadmap in the coming year to deliver net zero in line with this commitment.

As part of its Greening Government initiative, the Government has set environment and waste targets that must be met this year, taking 2009/10 as the baseline year. The specific targets and our achievements are shown in the table below:

The targets apply to the NDA combined with Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) because in the baseline year RWM was part of NDA.

Our performance against our 10 year targets has been good, with the exception of the greenhouse gas emissions where we marginally missed the target.Target was reset from 32% to 66% by BEIS in 2018/19. We have made good progress in reducing our emissions but meeting the new target in the time available has been challenging.

We use a suite of metrics, targets and performance indicators to analyse safety performance. We also visit sites to carry out safety reviews and discuss safety directly with managers, workers and trade union representatives. The results are reported to the NDA Executive and the NDA Safety and Security Committee (S&SC), a sub-committee of the NDA Board, and the findings are raised with businesses that produce and enact plans to mitigate any risks arising.

Sellafield’s accident rate, which is a measure of actual harm, has reduced slightly in the last year, indicating that the fundamentals of good safety management are in place at the site. We did note an increase in the number of events where human performance was a contributory factor. Serious events were rare. The trends noted by the NDA were identified independently by Sellafield and recognised as a risk to the business.

On 2 April 2019, Sellafield Ltd was fined £380,000 following ONR’s prosecution for safety breaches relating to glove box use. This event was subject to a full investigation with root cause analysis to ensure no recurrence.

Sellafield recorded five INES events this year, there was one INES level 2 event (incident) which occurred in November 2019 when liquor level monitoring indicated a leak from the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo which culminated in contamination within the facility in an area not expected by design. There was no health risk to the workforce or the community and a well-established management plan has been enacted to manage the situation. A further event was categorised as INES 1 but was reported last year.

The INES level 1 events were:

In July 19 following a review of the outer package weld specifications of multi layered cans storing nuclear material, a potential uncertainty was identified regarding the package integrity in a loss of cooling scenario.In September 2019 a review was conducted on the transfer of filters from one area to another in the same building, it was identified that correct personal protective equipment had not been worn by some operators associated with the activity. However, the task was completed without incident and there was no impact to the people, plant or environment as a consequence.

On 2 October 2019 an operation- removal of a dummy shield plug was conducted outside the scope of the safety case against Sellafield Ltd arrangements. There was no safety consequence as a result.Reducing liquid levels in a concrete sump tank in the legacy ponds area of Sellafield site were detected. Work is ongoing to characterise the reduction and additional monitoring and detection systems have been deployed. There is no health risk to the work force or community resulting from this issue.

At Sellafield, from a positive perspective a new radioactive substances activities permit was issued by the Environment Agency.

Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd continued the decommissioning programme and completed the significant milestone of transferring its stock of civil separated plutonium to Sellafield. The site has been consolidating its health and safety performance this year, however, a small number of significant near miss issues have been under scrutiny with the NDA and improvements to mitigate these are being pursued.

Safety performance at Magnox has slightly improved this year indicating that the transition from parent body organisation to wholly owned subsidiary of the NDA has not adversely affected health & safety. Magnox has a well-structured safety improvement plan ‘target zero’ that has no doubt contributed to the performance.

Magnox has completed defueling of all reactors, with Wylfa sending its final consignment of spent fuel to Sellafield in September 2019. This marks a significant reduction in nuclear risk at Magnox plants.

LLWR’s accident rate is zero and has been all year, against a backdrop of some significant decommissioning work - including completion of the PCM magazine decommissioning where the buildings housing this facility have been demolished. This is a pleasing improvement on the previous year.

INS, DRS and RWM all maintained good safety performance throughout the year and reported no Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) events.

This represents the culmination of several years’ work by both Sellafield and the Environment Agency. Work has been undertaken by Sellafield to map carbon footprint for the site with the help of the Carbon Trust and to set carbon reduction targets. In addition, work is ongoing with the Environment Agency to reduce limits on water abstraction which will help to protect aquatic diversity.

However, there are still ongoing environmental events, although none of which have caused harm to the environment. Asset condition remains one of the key factors and issues with the on-site sewage treatment works attracted an Environment Agency warning letter. There was also a large loss of refrigerant gas. All of the above are subject to investigation and actions to prevent recurrence.

Sellafield’s Independent Oversight Group identified shortfalls in environmental culture and leadership at the site – there is a programme underway to improve.

At Dounreay, improvements attained in previous years have largely held with a low number of events. However, there has been some slippage in the eyes of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, formal correspondence from SEPA is awaited. In February 2019, during routine ventilation system testing a damper valve led to a contamination event within the Fuel Cycle Area. There was no harm but investigation by SEPA identified a number of issues associated with maintenance of ventilation system dampers and valves. A number of non-compliances and actions were identified. DSRL set up a specific project to resolve. Also a SEPA inspection revealed failures to comply with internal standards, work is ongoing to rectify these issues.

Environmental performance at Magnox has generally been good. There has been a significant reduction in environmental risk at Wylfa with the removal of 25,000 litres of sodium hypochlorite, as part of decommissioning and, 280,000 litres of generator transformer oil were removed from Chapelcross. Magnox rolled out an excellent sustainability message in their ‘target zero’ campaign.

However, there have been issues throughout the year at Harwell and Winfrith associated with the management and transport of waste, for which warning letters were received from the Environment Agency. An improvement plan was agreed with the regulators and implemented. Also Chapelcross received a warning letter from SEPA after rainwater was found accumulating on tarpaulin over low level waste packages. Actions have been implemented and lessons learned.

Elsewhere, there has been good environmental performance at LLWR and in our businesses NDA Properties Ltd, INS/PNTL, RWM and DRS.

An overview of progress for the year can be found in the Governance Statement.

The bulk of the NDA’s budget is directed towards tackling the nuclear legacy, by funding the decommissioning carried out by Site Licence Companies. The remainder funds commercial operations, industry-wide costs, fees to Site Licence Companies and the NDA’s own running costs.

Spend in 2019/20 was £3.2 billion. More than 65% of this was spent at Sellafield, reflecting the priority given to the site.

Expenditure at Sellafield has increased during the NDA’s existence and now stands at £2.1 billion per year.

The NDA’s own running costs increased to £53 million per year, or approximately 1.7% of overall expenditure, reflecting the NDA’s investment in enhanced capability and capacity.

The NDA recognised income of almost £0.8 billion in the year, with over £0.5 billion arising fromreprocessing and management of spent fuels and waste.

The proportion of the NDA expenditure tackling the nuclear legacy has increased since 2005, with a corresponding reduction in commercial costs as commercial operations wind down.

Sellafield has always been the NDA’s largest area of spend, and has been increasingly prioritised in recent years as funding has been directed towards the estate’s highest hazards.

After the early years in establishing the NDA’s structure and programme, annual running costs stabilised at below £40 million per year. In 2019/20 the NDA invested in enhanced capability and capacity in order to ensure the successful delivery of its mission.

In recent years electricity generation income has reduced, leaving reprocessing and management of spent fuels and waste as the dominant source of income.

The Nuclear Provision is a single point number in the Statement of Financial Position which represents the discounted estimated cost of the decommissioning mission.

The NDA management’s best estimate of the future costs of the estate is based on an assumed inventory of materials, using strategies for retrieval and disposal over several decades. Each of these elements (quantity, method and time to treat) is uncertain in their own right, as is the cost of developing the necessary technology and plans to deal with these activities. The quality of the forecast becomes less certain further into the future, and acceptable standards of clean-up and end states may change.

It is important to understand the basis of this estimate and the inherent uncertainty around it, and therefore that it is simply a single point in a credible range of potential outcomes. For more detail see Appendix A.

The discounted nuclear provision at the end of 2018/19 was £130.7 billion. Since then the movements have been:

These movements bring the 2019/20 Authority estimate to £134.9 billion discounted.

The nuclear provision is the best estimate of how much our mission will cost over approximately 120 years.

The graph (below) shows the undiscounted expenditure profile for future years (excluding NDA administrative and other non-programme costs, and some commercial costs) from lifetime cost projections from each of the site licence companies.

The expenditure profile illustrates a downward trend in expenditure over the next 50 years, following a short-term peak over the next 10 years, as sites enter into Care and Maintenance with subsequent increases in expenditure in the period from 2070 when final site clearance work on Magnox sites is undertaken.

The notes and disclosures in this section are subject to audit.

The disclosures in this note are in accordance with ‘Managing Public Money’, and the purpose of this note is to report on losses and special payments of particular interest to Parliament. Total losses during the year were £4,623,843 (2019: £1,481,536).

A contract loss provision in respect of potentially onerous commercial contracts to manage spent fuel and waste is included within other provisions (note 25 to accounts) and is not included in the losses disclosed above.

Store losses relate to the write off of stores item on licence sites. Stores losses reported in 2020 includes the write off of chemicals purchased for use in the Thorp reprocessing plant at Sellafield, and no longer required following the conclusion of reprocessing activity at the plant in 2019 (value £916,418).

Book-keeping losses relate to the writing off of a historic debt associated with a Magnox site.

Contingent liabilities not required to be disclosed under IAS 37 but included for parliamentary reporting and accountability purposes:

(i) The NDA has non-quantifiable contingent liabilities arising from indemnities given as part of the contracts for the management of the site licence companies.

These indemnities are in respect of the uninsurable residual risk that courts in a country which is not party ro the Paris and Brussels Conventions on third party liabilities in the field of nuclear energy may accept jurisdiction to determine liability in the event of a nuclear incident. Indemnities are in place in respect of Magnox, LLWR and Dounreay, as set out in the relevant Parent Body Agreements. In addition, indemnities are provided to the previous PBOs of Magnox and Sellafield covering the periods in their ownership. These are not treated as contingent liabilities within the meaning of IAS 37 since the possibility of a transfer of economic benefit in settlement is considered too remote.

(a) In November 2019 a novel strain of coronavirus was detected and spread rapidly, leading the World Health Organisation to declare a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The pandemic caused significant economic disruption just before the financial year end.

The Authority responded by suspending certain projects and operations in order to ensure the safety and security of the sites and to protect the workforce.

The ongoing disruption caused by the pandemic has created significant economic uncertainty, and this uncertainty is expected to continue throughout 2020. As a result, an unquantifiable contingent liability is disclosed, relating to potential additional costs resulting from the suspension of projects and operations at the Authority’s sites. In accordance with accounting standards, no contingent assets can be recognised.

(b) On 29 March 2017, the UK Government submitted its notification to leave the EU in accordance with Article 50. On 31 January 2020, the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU became legally binding and the UK left the EU. The future relationship between the EU and the UK will be determined by negotiations taking place during a transition period ending 31 December 2020.

Any subsequent changes in legislation, regulation and funding arrangements are subject to the outcome of the negotiations. As a result, an unquantifiable contingent liability is disclosed. In accordance with accounting standards, no contingent assets can be recognised.

I have audited the financial statements of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for the year ended 31 March 2020 under the Energy Act 2004. The financial statements comprise: the Group and Authority Statements of Comprehensive Net Expenditure, Financial Position, Cash Flows, Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity; and the related notes, including the significant accounting policies. These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out within them. I have also audited the information in the Accountability Report that is described in that report as having been audited.

In my opinion:

Without qualifying my opinion, I draw attention to the disclosures made in notes 3 and 24 to the financial statements concerning the uncertainties inherent in the nuclear decommissioning provisions. As set out in these notes, given the very long timescales involved and the complexity of the plants and materials being handled, a considerable degree of uncertainty remains over the value of the liability for decommissioning nuclear sites designated by the Secretary of State. Significant changes to the liability could occur as a result of subsequent information and events which are different from the current assumptions adopted by the Authority.

In my opinion, in all material respects the income and expenditure recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) (UK) and Practice Note 10 ‘Audit of Financial Statements of Public Sector Entities in the United Kingdom’. My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of my certificate. Those standards require me and my staff to comply with the Financial Reporting Council’s Revised Ethical Standard 2016. I am independent of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit and the financial statements in the UK. My staff and I have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion.

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require me to report to you where:

Responsibilities of the Authority and Accounting Officer for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities, the Authority and the Accounting Officer are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view.

My responsibility is to audit and report on the financial statements in accordance with the Energy Act 2004.

An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), I exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. I also:

I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that I identify during my audit.

In addition, I am required to obtain evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the income and expenditure reported in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them.

The Authority and the Accounting Officer are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises information included in the annual report, but does not include the parts of the Accountability Report described in that report as having been audited, the financial statements and my auditor’s report thereon. My opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and I do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with my audit of the financial statements, my responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or my knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work I have performed, I conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required to report that fact. I have nothing to report in this regard.

In my opinion:

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in my opinion:

Gareth Davies13 July 2020Comptroller and Auditor General

National Audit Office157-197 Buckingham Palace RoadVictoriaLondonSW1W 9SP

The following section provides a summary as to how each of the organisations in the NDA group has performed in 2019/20. The performance of Urenco Nuclear Stewardship Ltd and Springfield Fuels Ltd is also included due to their role in decommissioning our sites at Capenhurst and Springfields.

Overall, 2019/20 has seen strong performance across the group with many important milestones achieved as has already been outlined in this report.

The following section provides a summary as to how each of the organisations in the group has performed against the key activities and milestones set out in our 2019/22 Business Plan. The ‘golden thread’ from the NDA’s 47 Strategic Outcomes to each of these key activities and milestones is also shown.

As in previous years, the performance of NDA’s major projects (defined as being those very large and complex new construction projects that require business case approval by Government) is included in Appendix C of this report. A number of these projects have seen significant increases to their lifetime cost and completion dates this year, most notably the Sellafield Box Encapsulation Plant (BEP) and the Sellafield SIXEP Contingency Plant. The current portfolio of in-flight major projects in the group is limited to nine projects at Sellafield, which equates to approximately 20% of Sellafield’s total expenditure this year.

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak NDA prepared and responded to guidance issued by HMG beginning in February 2020. In line with the lockdown announced by the Prime Minister on 23 March 2020 all non-essential activity at our sites was suspended with only essential services (including receipt of spent fuel at Sellafield and receipt of waste at the Low Level Waste Repository at Drigg) remaining operational. Direct Rail Services continued to run train services where required, however some services were suspended at the customer’s request and certain trains had additional wagons added to increase capacity. In line with HMG guidance our people have worked from home during the lockdown where possible. As the lockdown occurred late in the reporting period there was limited impact on performance against targets for the year. Our businesses are currently planning how to resume operational, decommissioning and project activity at sites as and when HMG guidance allows.

Further, NDA responded to the requirements of PPN 02/20 in a manner intended to minimise the risk to our critical supply chain and the delay to our important programme of works during the COVID-19 disruption. In return for agreeing to a number of conditions, including an open book approach, agreeing not to access any duplicate government support and to retain their key staff and supply chain, key suppliers who were financially impacted by COVID-19 and who have been unable to deliver goods or services at the levels that were envisaged before the COVID-19 outbreak have been eligible to apply for support payments. The maximum in support payments available to each key supplier is an amount equal to the shortfall in billable work they have been able to deliver since 1 April 2020, when compared with pre-COVID expectations. NDA has liaised closely with each supplier receiving support and in accordance with PPN 04/20 is now formulating a plan with each supplier for how support will be withdrawn no later than 31 October 2020.

NDA continued to support the UK government throughout 2019/20 in its negotiations and preparation for the UK’s exit from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

The NDA Corporate Centre is a non-departmental public body created by the Energy Act 2004 to lead the clean-up and decommissioning work at the NDA’s 17 sites on behalf of government. NDA is sponsored and funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Sellafield is an NDA subsidiary, responsible for operating and decommissioning Europe’s largest and most complex nuclear site, Sellafield in west Cumbria. This includes cleaning up nuclear facilities and safeguarding nuclear fuel, materials and waste.

Magnox is an NDA subsidiary, responsible for 12 nuclear sites across the UK: * Berkeley* Bradwell* Chapelcross* Dungeness A* Harwell* Hinkley Point A* Hunterson A* Oldbury* Sizewell A* Trawsfynydd* Winfrith* Wylfa

Magnox also generates electricity at the Maentwrog hydroelectric plant.

Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) is responsible for cleaning up and decommissioning the Dounreay site in the north of Scotland. It also operates a Low Level Waste (LLW) disposal facility to deal with waste from the site. The organisation is owned and managed by parent body organisation Cavendish Dounreay Partnership.

Low Level Waste Repository is managed under a parent body organisation model and owned by Nuclear Waste Management Ltd. It manages and operates the UK’s low level waste repository in west Cumbria, providing safe, permanent disposal for a range of radioactive wastes. It’s also responsible for delivering the UK’s national low level waste programme and associated waste management services.

Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) Ltd is an NDA subsidiary, responsible for delivering a geological disposal facility in the UK, on behalf of the NDA. This includes finding a suitable site with a willing community to host this permanent and safe solution for managing radioactive waste.

International Nuclear Services (INS) is an NDA subsidiary, with locations in the UK, France and Japan. It provides specialist nuclear transport, design and licensing services to the NDA group, as well as to a range of domestic and international customers. It also operates the nuclear shipping company, Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd, the world’s most experienced marine transporter of specialist nuclear materials.

Direct Rail Services (DRS) is an NDA subsidiary, providing expert and specialist nuclear transport services to support the NDA mission. A world leader in safe, secure and reliable nuclear logistics, DRS also has contracts with domestic customers, providing other tailored rail logistics solutions.

NDA Archives is an NDA subsidiary, responsible for the Nucleus (the Nuclear and Caithness Archives). The facility is operated by a commercial partner and provides long-term records management and archiving services for the NDA group.

Rutherford Indemnity Ltd provides insurance cover for the NDA group. It has a particular focus on nuclear liability cover and the provision of support for changes to insurance requirements. The organisation is an NDA subsidiary, managed for the NDA by Marsh Captive Management services, and has no direct employees.

NDA Properties Ltd is an NDA subsidiary, holding and managing the majority of the non-nuclear property assets within the NDA group.

Owned by: URENCO

The NDA Capenhurst site is located near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.

In 2012, the site was transferred to URENCO, owners of the adjacent licensed site, and was amalgamated into a single nuclear licensed site. As part of this transfer, URENCO established Urenco Nuclear Stewardship (UNS), formerly known as Capenhurst Nuclear Services, to provide responsible management of uranic materials and carry out remediation work on behalf of the NDA.

UNS manages a large proportion of the NDA’s uranic inventory and also provides broader decommissioning and demolition works for redundant facilities, in order to reduce liability and optimise space utilisation on site.

Owned by Westinghouse Electric UK Holdings Limited

Springfields is a nuclear fuel manufacturing site and is located near Preston in Lancashire. The site is operated by Springfields Fuels Limited (SFL) and is used to manufacture a range of fuel products for UK and international customers, the processing of historic uranic residues and decommissioning of redundant facilities.

From April 2010, the NDA permanently transferred ownership of the company to Westinghouse Electric including the freedom to invest for the future under the terms of a new 150-year lease. SFL is contracted to provide decommissioning and clean-up services to the NDA to address historic liabilities.

NDA HeadquartersHerdus HouseWestlakes Science & Technology ParkMoor RowCumbriaCA24 3HUContact: +44 (0)1925 802001Visit: [www.gov.uk/nda](www.gov.uk/nda)

London Office10 Victoria StreetWestminsterLondonSW1H 0NN

Harwell OfficeNuclear Decommissioning AuthorityBuilding 329West Thomson AvenueHarwell CampusOX11 0GD

Warrington Office Hinton HouseBirchwood Park AvenueRisleyWarrington WA3 6GR

Dounreay OfficeD2003 – Zone 8DounreayThursoCaithnessKW14 7TZ

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy1 Victoria StreetLondonSW1H 0ET

Principal Bankers Government Banking ServiceWellesey GroveCroydonCR9 1WW

AuditorThe Comptroller and Auditor GeneralNational Audit Office157-197 Buckingham Palace RoadVictoriaLondonSW1W 9SP