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The EU Environment Sub-Committee writes to Baroness Stedman-Scott, the Department for Work and Pensions Minister, regarding the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR’s) preparations for the end of the transition period.

• Letter from the Department for Work and Pensions Minister, 7 October 2020
• Letter from the Chair of the EU Environment Sub-Committee to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 28 October 2020
• Office for Nuclear Regulation: Brexit preparedness
• EU Environment Sub-Committee

Background

The nuclear safeguarding role is currently fulfilled by the EU organisation Euratom. From 1 January 2020, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), a UK body, will take this on.
The Department for Work and Pensions Minister Baroness Stedman-Scott wrote to the Committee regarding the positive work done by the ONR, as follows:

• Recruiting and training the necessary safeguarding inspectors: the Minister confirms that the ONR exceeded its recruitment target and that all new staff have been trained to the necessary standard.
• Developing a new IT system to allow the ONR to report the necessary information to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): the Minister confirms that it was operational by March 2019 and in the meantime has been tested, and improved following feedback from users and the IAEA.
• Funding for the ONR’s new safeguarding function: the Minister states that the Government has now confirmed that it will be funding the role until the end of March 2022, and is considering what arrangements will be put in place beyond that date.
  The Committee was very pleased with this response and has written to the Minister welcoming the thorough work done by the ONR to prepare for the end of the transition period and to congratulate them on making good use of time since March.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees