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BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Sellafield could leak radioactive water until 2050s, MPs warn
The UK's largest nuclear site could continue leaking radioactive water until the 2050s, MPs have warned, while its clean-up operations struggle to progress quickly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the speed of decommissioning work at Sellafield in Cumbria, citing "cost overruns and continuing safety concerns" in a report published on Wednesday. Although the committee noted there were "signs of improvement", PAC chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said Sellafield continued to present "intolerable risks".The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) acknowledged the leak at its Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS) was its "single biggest environmental issue". The MSSS, which the NDA described as "the most hazardous building in the UK", has been leaking radioactive water into the ground since 2018, releasing enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool every three is likely to continue leaking until the oldest section of the building has been emptied in the 2050s, about a decade later than previously Geoffrey said: "As with the fight against climate change, the sheer scale of the hundred-year timeframe of the decommissioning project makes it hard to grasp the immediacy of safety hazards and cost overruns that delays can have."Every day at Sellafield is a race against time to complete works before buildings reach the end of their life. "Our report contains too many signs that this is a race that Sellafield risks losing." Pointing to the fact that Sellafield Ltd had missed most of its annual targets for retrieving waste from buildings, including the MSSS, the committee warned: "The consequence of this underperformance is that the buildings are likely to remain extremely hazardous for longer."A spokeswoman for the NDA said the "leak in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is contained and does not pose a risk to the public". "Regulators accept that the current plan to tackle the leak is the most effective one." 'False dawn' Sir Geoffrey said it was of "vital importance that the government grasp the daily urgency of the work taking place at Sellafield and shed any sense of a far-off date of completion for which no-one currently living is responsible"."Sellafield's risks and challenges are those of the present day."There are some early indications of some improvement in Sellafield's delivery, which our report notes. "The government must do far more to hold all involved immediately accountable to ensure these do not represent a false dawn, and to better safeguard both the public purse and the public itself." Sellafield ceased generating electricity in 2003 and, in addition to work cleaning up the site, now processes and stores nuclear waste from power plants around the government plans to create an underground geological disposal facility (GDF) to store nuclear waste for the thousands of years it will take to become the committee said delays in creating the GDF, which is now not expected to be complete until the late 2050s, meant more costs for chief executive David Peattie said it welcomed the report, adding it took the "findings seriously and the safety of the site and the wellbeing of our people will always be our highest priorities"."We are pleased they recognise improvements in delivering major projects and that we are safely retrieving waste from all four highest hazard facilities." The PAC expressed concern there was a "sub-optimal culture" at Sellafield and called on the NDA to publish information about the prevalence and perception of bullying in its annual NDA spokeswoman said: "We're committed to an open and respectful culture and we've taken decisive action to enable this, including strengthening our whistleblowing policy."The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it "expected the highest standards of safety and security as former nuclear sites are dismantled, and the regulator is clear that public safety is not compromised at Sellafield"."This is underpinned by monthly performance reviews and increased responsibility for overseeing major project performance, enabling more direct scrutiny and intervention," a spokeswoman for the department said. "We have zero tolerance of bullying, harassment and offensive behaviour in the workplace - we expect Sellafield and the NDA to operate on this basis, investigate allegations and take robust action when needed." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
UK's most hazardous building still leaking radioactive water, MPs warn
Britain's most hazardous building could leak radioactive water until the 2050s as clean-up operations at Sellafield struggle to progress quickly enough, MPs have warned. In a report published on Wednesday, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the speed of decommissioning work at the former nuclear power plant, citing examples of 'failure, cost overruns and continuing safety concerns'. Although the committee noted there were 'signs of improvement', PAC chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said Sellafield continued to present 'intolerable risks'. He said: 'As with the fight against climate change, the sheer scale of the hundred-year timeframe of the decommissioning project makes it hard to grasp the immediacy of safety hazards and cost overruns that delays can have. 'Every day at Sellafield is a race against time to complete works before buildings reach the end of their life. Our report contains too many signs that this is a race that Sellafield risks losing.' The PAC said those risks were underlined by the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS), which the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) described to the committee as 'the most hazardous building in the UK'. The MSSS has been leaking radioactive water into the ground since 2018, releasing enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool every three years, and is likely to continue leaking until the oldest section of the building has been emptied in the 2050s, around a decade later than previously expected. Pointing to the fact that Sellafield Ltd had missed most of its annual targets for retrieving waste from buildings, including the MSSS, the committee warned: 'The consequence of this underperformance is that the buildings are likely to remain extremely hazardous for longer.' The NDA has acknowledged that the leak is its 'single biggest environmental issue', and a spokeswoman said managing it and retrieving waste from the MSSS was 'our highest priority'. She added: 'As the report says, the leak in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is contained and does not pose a risk to the public. Regulators accept that the current plan to tackle the leak is the most effective one.' Sir Geoffrey said: 'It is of vital importance that the Government grasp the daily urgency of the work taking place at Sellafield, and shed any sense of a far-off date of completion for which no-one currently living is responsible. 'Sellafield's risks and challenges are those of the present day. 'There are some early indications of some improvement in Sellafield's delivery, which our report notes. Government must do far more to hold all involved immediately accountable to ensure these do not represent a false dawn, and to better safeguard both the public purse and the public itself.' Sellafield ceased generating electricity in 2003 and, in addition to work cleaning up the site, now processes and stores nuclear waste from power plants around the UK. In the longer term, the Government plans to create an underground geological disposal facility (GDF) to store nuclear waste for the thousands of years it will take to become safe. But the committee said delays in creating the GDF, which is now not expected to be done until the late 2050s, meant more costs for Sellafield as it required more storage facilities. NDA chief executive David Peattie said he welcomed the PAC's scrutiny and would consider how best to address its recommendations. He said: 'We take the findings seriously and the safety of the site and the wellbeing of our people will always be our highest priorities. 'As the committee has noted, Sellafield is the most complex and challenging nuclear site in the UK. We are pleased they recognise improvements in delivering major projects and that we are safely retrieving waste from all four highest hazard facilities. 'With the support of our employees, their representatives, community and stakeholders, we remain committed to driving forward improved performance and continuing to deliver our nationally important mission safely, securely and sustainably.' As well as criticising delays in clean-up operations and calling for an overhaul of how the site functions, the PAC expressed concern that there was a 'sub-optimal culture' at Sellafield. The committee pointed to the 16 non-disclosure agreements signed by Sellafield Ltd in the last 16 years, and called on the NDA to publish information about the prevalence and perception of bullying in its annual report. The NDA spokeswoman said: 'We're committed to an open and respectful culture and we've taken decisive action to enable this, including strengthening our whistleblowing policy. 'Evidence shows the improvements are working and the report acknowledges the improvement in staff survey results over recent years, but we are never complacent and will continue to strive to ensure the NDA group is a place where everyone feels respected and empowered to raise issues, knowing that they will be acted upon appropriately. 'As the report notes, it is one of the conditions of Sellafield's nuclear site licence to have a robust process for reporting safety issues and the independent nuclear regulator has given the site a green rating of compliance.' A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'We expect the highest standards of safety and security as former nuclear sites are dismantled, and the regulator is clear that public safety is not compromised at Sellafield. 'We continue to support the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in its oversight of Sellafield, while driving value for money. 'This is underpinned by monthly performance reviews and increased responsibility for overseeing major project performance, enabling more direct scrutiny and intervention. 'We have zero tolerance of bullying, harassment and offensive behaviour in the workplace – we expect Sellafield and the NDA to operate on this basis, investigate allegations and take robust action when needed.'
The Independent
5 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Britain's ‘most hazardous building' could leak radioactive water for 30 more years, MPs warn
A report by MPs has warned that one of Britain's most dangerous buildings may continue to leak radioactive water well into the 2050s, as decommissioning efforts at Sellafield struggle to keep pace. The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released a report on Wednesday, criticising the slow progress of decommissioning work at the former nuclear power plant, citing "failure, cost overruns, and continuing safety concerns". PAC chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown acknowledged "signs of improvement" but stressed that Sellafield continues to pose "intolerable risks". He said that the scale of the decommissioning project makes it difficult to grasp the urgency of safety hazards and cost overruns. "Every day at Sellafield is a race against time to complete works before buildings reach the end of their life," he said, adding that the report indicates Sellafield risks losing this race. The Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS), described by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) as "the most hazardous building in the UK," highlights these risks. Since 2018, the MSSS has been leaking radioactive water into the ground, releasing enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool every three years. This leakage is expected to persist until the oldest section of the building is emptied in the 2050s, approximately a decade later than initially projected. Pointing to the fact that Sellafield Ltd had missed most of its annual targets for retrieving waste from buildings, including the MSSS, the committee warned: 'The consequence of this underperformance is that the buildings are likely to remain extremely hazardous for longer.' The NDA has acknowledged that the leak is its 'single biggest environmental issue', and a spokeswoman said managing it and retrieving waste from the MSSS was 'our highest priority'. She added: 'As the report says, the leak in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is contained and does not pose a risk to the public. Regulators accept that the current plan to tackle the leak is the most effective one.' Sir Geoffrey said: 'It is of vital importance that the Government grasp the daily urgency of the work taking place at Sellafield, and shed any sense of a far-off date of completion for which no-one currently living is responsible. 'Sellafield's risks and challenges are those of the present day. 'There are some early indications of some improvement in Sellafield's delivery, which our report notes. Government must do far more to hold all involved immediately accountable to ensure these do not represent a false dawn, and to better safeguard both the public purse and the public itself.' Sellafield ceased generating electricity in 2003 and, in addition to work cleaning up the site, now processes and stores nuclear waste from power plants around the UK. In the longer term, the Government plans to create an underground geological disposal facility (GDF) to store nuclear waste for the thousands of years it will take to become safe. But the committee said delays in creating the GDF, which is now not expected to be done until the late 2050s, meant more costs for Sellafield as it required more storage facilities. NDA chief executive David Peattie said he welcomed the PAC's scrutiny and would consider how best to address its recommendations. He said: 'We take the findings seriously and the safety of the site and the wellbeing of our people will always be our highest priorities. 'As the committee has noted, Sellafield is the most complex and challenging nuclear site in the UK. We are pleased they recognise improvements in delivering major projects and that we are safely retrieving waste from all four highest hazard facilities. 'With the support of our employees, their representatives, community and stakeholders, we remain committed to driving forward improved performance and continuing to deliver our nationally important mission safely, securely and sustainably.' As well as criticising delays in clean-up operations and calling for an overhaul of how the site functions, the PAC expressed concern that there was a 'sub-optimal culture' at Sellafield. The committee pointed to the 16 non-disclosure agreements signed by Sellafield Ltd in the last 16 years, and called on the NDA to publish information about the prevalence and perception of bullying in its annual report. The NDA spokeswoman said: 'We're committed to an open and respectful culture and we've taken decisive action to enable this, including strengthening our whistleblowing policy. 'Evidence shows the improvements are working and the report acknowledges the improvement in staff survey results over recent years, but we are never complacent and will continue to strive to ensure the NDA group is a place where everyone feels respected and empowered to raise issues, knowing that they will be acted upon appropriately. 'As the report notes, it is one of the conditions of Sellafield's nuclear site licence to have a robust process for reporting safety issues and the independent nuclear regulator has given the site a green rating of compliance.'
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Watchdog calls for action on children's care case delays in England and Wales
The proportion of children in England and Wales subject to care proceedings who are having to wait more than a year to have their case resolved has increased more than 17-fold in the last seven years, a watchdog has found. The average duration of proceedings brought by local authorities to protect a child from harm (known as public law cases) was 36 weeks last year, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). In 2014 the government set a time limit of 26 weeks but it has never been met. In a report published on Wednesday, the NAO says the proportion of children waiting more than a year for a public law case to be resolved increased from 0.7% in January 2017 to 12% in December last year. The figures equate to approximately 70 and 1,200 children respectively. The watchdog is urging the government to do more to tackle delays that can mean children waiting longer for permanent care and living or contact arrangements, increasing risk of harm, anxiety, instability and disrupted friendships or education. Including private law cases, which involve parental disputes such as living or contact arrangements for their child, there were more than 4,000 children in England and Wales in family court proceedings lasting two years in December 2024. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the House of Commons public accounts committee, said: 'Too many children are suffering as a result of delays to family court proceedings, which are currently still far too long. The longer a case remains unresolved, the more likely it is that there are further delays, increasing the risk of harm to children and driving up public costs. 'Responsibilities for family justice are fragmented, with no single body responsible for overall performance. Government has neither the right data to fully understand the causes or impacts of delays, nor does it have an assessment of the capacity required to manage the system efficiently.' In December, nearly two-thirds of the 4,000 cases that had been open for 100 weeks or longer were in London and the south-east. London had an average duration of 53 weeks for cases brought by local authorities and 70 weeks for cases brought by parents. Wales performed best, averaging 24 weeks and 18 weeks respectively. Where there were longer delays, this reflected issues such as lower judicial capacity in those areas, the NAO said. There is no government time limit for private law cases, which took 41 weeks on average last year. The watchdog said the impact of delays on costs was significant, as evidence and assessments needed to be updated. Average spending on legal aid for a case brought by a local authority doubled between 2018 and 2022 from approximately £6,000 to about £12,000 – an annual increase of £314m in legal aid spending. Family courts have recovered much better than crown courts after the Covid-19 pandemic, with 47,662 family court cases outstanding (37,541 of them private law cases), down by more than a quarter since August 2021. But Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: 'Many cases still take too long to complete and further action is needed to remove the barriers to a more efficient system, including poor-quality data and fragmented decision-making.' A government spokesperson said it had inherited a justice system in crisis, adding: 'We are working hard to improve their experience in the family courts further by expanding the successful pathfinder pilot, which has already reduced case times by 11 weeks, and investing £500m in early intervention. Cases are now moving faster.'
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Watchdog's investment body findings prompt concern over UK research ‘leadership'
Ongoing shortcomings at the UK's largest public funder of research and innovation (R&I) projects threaten to undermine the UK's position as a 'global leader' in supporting the development of new knowledge, a senior MP has warned. An assessment by the National Audit Office (NAO) of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body established in 2018, found concerns about fraud protection and its ability to maximise value for money from its funding. The NAO also identified a lack of a coherent direction from government departments on R&I priorities and inefficient data systems at the UKRI, alongside a lack of 'measurable objectives' which have limited effective monitoring of progress at strategic level. The public spending watchdog also said there is a need to strengthen the management of risk in relation to funding decisions. The Government has identified research and innovation, also known as research and development, as crucial to achieving its priorities of growing the economy and achieving net zero. In her Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves committed to invest £20.4 billion in this area in 2025/26, with the Government promising to 'promote innovation and harness the full potential of the UK's science base … (through) protecting record funding for research and development'. Responding to the NAO report, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: 'With UKRI spending over £9 billion on R&I a year, it is vital that it gets this right. 'UKRI plays a key role in supporting a substantial and successful R&I system, seeking to take a high-risk, high-reward approach to grant funding. However, it lacks any measurable objectives to track progress and does not have the right data to manage grant spending strategically. 'For the nation to remain global leaders in R&I, UKRI must do more to support its decision-makers, foster resilience, and ensure our systems can continue to respond to emerging challenges.' The NAO said the Government does not currently have clarity on what it is asking the body to do because of a 'lack of co-ordination in how Government expects UKRI to support the delivery of a range of objectives'. It added: 'Due to the broad nature of UKRI's activity, government departments indicate their policy priorities to UKRI through a variety of means, including ad hoc and routine meetings, government strategies and mission statements, and spending review budgets. 'But these are not consolidated or ranked, which means the overall picture of what Government is asking UKRI to do is unclear.' The NAO also said none of the objectives outlined in UKRI's first five-year strategy are 'specific, measurable or time-bound', which makes it 'difficult to understand what it is seeking to achieve'. The report highlights that the body has pledged to take 'high risks where there is a potential for high rewards'. But it warned that 'data limitations', caused in part by problems bringing together systems of 'multiple' predecessor organisations, are restricting UKRI's 'ability to efficiently manage its investments'. The NAO also found the body is not currently in full compliance with the Government's standards for counter-fraud, adding that the dedicated team is under-staffed, dealing with a backlog of cases and has limited capacity for work on prevention. While UKRI has had deficiencies in funding assurance 'for several years running', its controls on the individual grants audited by the NAO were found to be adequate. However, the watchdog said the UKRI could not provide 'a reliable picture of whether, across the organisation, error and fraud are under control'. Overall, the body has investigated suspected fraud on £42.6 million of grants, identified £4.6 million of fraud, prevented £13.5 million, and recovered £80,000. The NAO recommended UKRI clarifies its appetite for risk relating to funding decisions and identifies 'barriers and incentives to taking bolder decisions'. It also called on the body to address deficiencies found in financial audits and data systems, and said it should work with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to 'map out' the government priorities and objectives it is expected to support in delivering. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: 'Providing effective support for research and innovation that secures value from public sector investment is a complex challenge. New ideas will not have a track record of delivery and innovative projects inevitably carry a higher degree of uncertainty. 'Although UKRI has played a key role in supporting a globally respected R&I system, there is more it could do to maximise value for money. 'Our recommendations are designed to help UKRI ensure its culture supports well-managed risk taking; develop better data to support decision making; and work with DSIT to define more clearly the overarching outcomes sought from its research and innovation spending.' A UKRI spokesperson said: 'UKRI invests over £9.5 billion a year in the UK's world-class research and innovation ecosystem and this plays a crucial role in driving sustainable economic growth, creating jobs and improving public services for people across the UK. 'We welcome today's report from the National Audit Office which recognises the vital role that UKRI plays in shaping and supporting a successful UK R&I endeavour, and endorses the work we are doing to drive continuous improvement in how we work. 'UKRI will continue to use its unique position in the research and innovation system to make smart and strategic investment choices, building a portfolio of investments that deliver the best outcomes now and in the future, making the most effective use of public money.'
