Consultation on the Restructuring of the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Directorate.

The purpose of this joint DECC and Department for Work and Pensions consultation is to seek views on the Government’s proposals to restructure the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Directorate.

The proposals are designed to improve the organisational framework for the sustained delivery of robust, effective and efficient nuclear regulation in the UK, and would effect two key changes:

• the creation of a new sector-specific independent regulator, with a pre-dominantly non-executive Board, which reports to: (i) Ministers in respect of its regulatory functions; and (ii) Ministers and the HSE in respect of strategies and business planning; and
   
• the transfer of the statutory responsibilities for the exercise of transport, security and safeguards functions from the Secretaries of State for Transport and Energy and Climate Change to the new regulator.

Benefits would include enhanced transparency and accountability. The restructuring will not change the substance or standards of regulation or compromise the independence of the nuclear regulatory body, and will not affect the decisions it takes or the international obligations the Government requires it to meet.

It is proposed that a Legislative Reform Order (LRO) under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 is used to re-establish the Nuclear Directorate as a Statutory Corporation – referred to in the consultation document as the Nuclear Statutory Corporation (NSC).

How to submit a response

The consultation opened on 30th June and will run until 22nd September 2009. We would welcome your input into the consultation process. You can send your response to the address listed in the consultation document, or by email to: ndrestructuring@decc.gsi.gov.uk.

Please use the response form below to structure your response to the questions.

Consultation Documents