Doubts over funding for nuclear body

There are "fundamental problems" with the way the body charged with decommissioning nuclear power stations is funded, a committee of MPs has said.

The Commons business and enterprise committee said that the "volatility and uncertainty" of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's commercial income, combined with pressure on government budgets, could put its work at risk.

The NDA is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

The department spends more than 40 per cent of its budget on the NDA, the committee said.

Its members called for specific assurances that rising decommissioning costs would not lead to cuts in other areas of BERR's work.

Chairman Peter Luff said: "The government rejected the option of funding the NDA through a ring-fenced, segregated fund, under the control of the authority.

"Instead it is funded essentially like other NDPBs."

"We believe nuclear decommissioning is too important to be left to the mercy of changing priorities in the Treasury and uncertain commercial income and we urge the government to begin work to resolve this issue urgently."