In May 2007, the government launched ‘The future of nuclear power, the role of nuclear power in a low carbon UK economy, a major consultation exercise on the future of civil nuclear power in the UK’.

The nature of the invitation for the consultation was defined as follows:

•  The government has a preliminary view on the future role of nuclear power within the UK energy mix but has not yet decided; this view is that it would be in the public interest to give private sector energy companies the option of investing in new nuclear power stations
• The government wishes to consult citizens and interested parties for their views and concerns relating to the arguments it has presented
• The government will consider the views expressed as part of the policy development process and then make a decision

Government decided to commission an independent evaluation of the 2007 consultation on civil nuclear power because it is good practice to evaluate such engagement activities thoroughly for audit and learning purposes, and to ensure that the consultation was subject to rigorous independent assessment.

Government also wants to learn for the future, and a number of points raised in this evaluation have been incorporated into our thinking for the future stages of the public consultation on nuclear.

The evaluation report is available below:

Key conclusions

Five key concerns emerged from the responses received, which were then addressed by changes in policy. The Nuclear white paper 2008: ‘meeting the energy challenge’,  published in January 2008, set out the Government’s policy:

(i) Waste
In answer to concerns about the management and disposal of radioactive waste. The Government’s conclusion on waste and decommissioning includes the following statement (pages 27 and 99 of the 2008 white paper):

“Our policy is that before development consents for new nuclear power stations are granted, the Government will need to be satisfied that effective arrangements exist or will exist to manage and dispose of the waste they will produce.”

(ii) Finance
In answer to concerns about ensuring that the private sector adequately provides for waste and decommissioning costs the 2008 white paper announced the establishment of the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board (NLFAB) (para 82, and Annex C) to scrutinise plans to finance waste management. The establishment of the Board was designed to ensure that such advice was public, transparent and independent to meet concerns about waste management, economics and the need for long term financial and management arrangements.

(iii) Renewables
In answer to concerns about the need for the energy mix continuing to include investment in renewables and energy efficiency, the foreword to the white paper explicitly recognises the need for the Government to support nuclear “as one part of the overall approach … including measures to save energy and to strengthen the Renewables Obligation to ensure that renewable electricity plays a full role in taking the UK towards a low-carbon energy economy” (page 6).

In addition, the white paper (para 6) identifies existing measures in the Energy white paper 2007: ‘Meeting the energy challenge’ including increasing the Renewables Obligation to 20% and raising energy efficiency standards of appliances, plus plans to increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix by 2020.

(iv) Safety
In answer to concerns about safety, security and health the white paper suggests that steps would be taken “putting in place measures to ensure that the effectiveness of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is further enhanced” (policy conclusion following para 82, page 34). Also, Annex C gives further details of the Regulatory and Advisory structure for nuclear power, covering the existing and future committee structure.

(v) Role of the Private Sector
The white paper recognised that the role of the private sector role in the ownership and management of nuclear power stations was one of the significant points raised in the consultation, described in John Hutton’s foreword as follows “the appropriateness of relying on energy companies for the construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power stations” (page 6). The creation of the NLFAB goes some way to addressing these concerns.

However, the UK is a market-led economy and the private sector are therefore expected to deliver energy infrastructure to meet demand. The Nuclear white paper 2008: ‘meeting the energy challenge’ set out the government’s policy:

“The government believes new nuclear power stations should have a role to play in this country’s future energy mix alongside other low-carbon sources; that it would be in the public interest to allow energy companies the option of investing in new nuclear power stations; and that the government should take active steps to facilitate this.”