Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent changes the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has approved to the baseline decommissioning plan for the Dounreay site; and what the additional cost is of such changes.

Since the award of the contract for the Dounreay site in 2012, additional scope has arisen, covering:

(1) Differences between the condition of the site at the time of contract award and its condition when the tender documents were published;

(2) Physical enhancements to the site, arising from evolving national standards;

(3) Removal of nuclear fuels from Dounreay to Sellafield for long-term storage, in line with Government policy that was subject to consultation at the time of the contract award.

The full scope of all changes to the contract is not yet fully costed. The NDA has, however, announced that it will make available £50m from savings elsewhere in its estate in the current financial year and in 2015-16 to enable work to continue including additional scope. Funding in subsequent years will be subject to the next Spending Review.