Parliamentary Oral Evidence Session to be held at Energus, Workington on Managing Risk at Sellafield

“The evidence session, which will take the form of a Parliamentary Hearing, will take evidence from John Clarke, Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, George Beveridge, Deputy Managing Director of Sellafield Ltd, and Phil Wynn Owen, Acting Permanent Secretary and Mark Higson, Office for Nuclear Development, Department of Energy and Climate Change.”

The Session follows a report from the National Audit Office earlier this month which said that owing to historic neglect, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority faces a considerable challenge in taking forward decommissioning at Sellafield.

Chair of the Committee, Rt Hon Margaret Hodge, says, “We are particularly keen to speak to the NDA because although we now see a more robust lifetime plan in place for Sellafield, we cannot say with certainty how long it will take to deal with hazardous radioactive waste at Sellafield or how much it will cost the taxpayer.”

The Evidence will take place on 26 November at Energus, Blackwood Road, Lillyhall, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 4JW from 2.00 pm.

Notes

Members of the public and media are welcome to attend the session. There will also be 30 mins before the session begins for media interviews with the Chair, Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP.

However note that other than filming the prelims at the start of the session it will be only possible to film the session if a broadcaster is able to dedicate two cameras to the entire session and provide the parliamentary authorities with a copy of the recording.

The Hearing follows a private tour of Sellafield by the Committee in the morning.

The main work of the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) is to examine the reports made to it by the head of the National Audit Office – the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) - on his value for money studies. These are concerned with the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which government departments and other bodies have used their resources to further their objectives.

The Committee has a duty to hold the government to account for its use of taxpayers’ money.  In so doing we seek to promote and protect the interests of taxpayers.  Our objective is to draw lessons from past successes and failures which can be applied to future activity by the organisations examined or more generally.  Our role is not to question the merits of government policies. It is to examine the way they have been put into effect and assess whether that represents value for money for the taxpayer.

Media Officer Alex Paterson 07917488488, patersona@parliament.uk
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