APPENDIX 41
Memorandum by the Office for Civil Nuclear
Security
ROLE
The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS)
is HMG's security regulator for the civil nuclear industry.
OCNS regulates security arrangements for the
protection of nuclear and radioactive material on civil nuclear
sites, nuclear transports and sensitive information under the
Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 and related legislation.
ORGANISATION
OCNS has been part of the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI) since October 2000. Previously it had been
the security branch of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
(UKAEA).
OCNS has 42 staff, many of whom are specialists
whose expertise has been acquired and developed either in the
security and intelligence services, the armed forces or the police.
The OCNS office is at the Harwell nuclear site
near Oxford.
FUNDING
In FY 05/06, the OCNS budget was £2,400k,
of which £2,300k was recovered from the industry. The balance
was paid by DTI to fund OCNS support to Government.
REGULATORY ACTIVITY
There are four distinct, yet inter-related areas
of competence:
— Site Security: Every nuclear
site has an agreed Site Security Plan (SSP) detailing the physical
measures designed to protect a nuclear site and the nuclear material
it holds. OCNS Inspectors ensure compliance with the SSP and
approve amendments, and conduct inspections as appropriate.
— Information Security: OCNS
Inspectors ensure that sensitive nuclear information is handled
and stored in accordance with HMG's protective marking system
for documents and electronic media. Activity includes inspection
and approval of physical and electronic measures to store, transmit
and retrieve sensitive nuclear information and also investigating
any loss or compromise of such information.
— Personnel Security: All those
permanently employed in, or engaged on contract to, the civil
nuclear industry, are security cleared commensurate with their
level of access to nuclear material. OCNS provides this security
vetting service, complying with national guidelines on standards,
procedures and appeals.
— Transport Security: OCNS regulates
the movement of all civil nuclear material by road and rail throughout
the UK and worldwide when carried on UK-flagged vessels.
CIVIL NUCLEAR
CONSTABULARY
The Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) provides
an armed policing service at selected nuclear sites. Since April
2005, the CNC has been administered by the Civil Nuclear Police
Authority (CNPA), a Non Departmental Public Body set up by the
Energy Act 2004. OCNS lays down the security standards to be followed
by the CNC and the Director, OCNS, chairs the Standing Committee
on Police Establishments (SCOPE) which agrees operational police
numbers and ranks.
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY
OCNS has a limited involvement in international
nuclear business, designed to promote the UK's interests and to
encourage best practice in nuclear matters. Bilateral exchanges
occur with a number of foreign nuclear regulatory bodies.
Notably, OCNS supports the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) by providing experts for various purposes,
including the Nuclear Security Programme (the Deputy Director,
OCNS, has recently led International Physical Protection Advisory
Service missions to Kazakhstan and Egypt) and workshops on nuclear
security projects.
OCNS supports the G8 Global Partnership, set
up to address the nuclear, chemical and biological legacies in
the Former Soviet Union, particularly with advice on security
for spent nuclear fuel and nuclear powered ships in Murmansk.
INTELLIGENCE
Director, OCNS, has formal links with the national
intelligence services and has prompt access to material relating
to nuclear matters. Threat warnings and appropriate responses
are disseminated to the industry by OCNS.
ANNUAL REPORT
Director, OCNS, reports annually in July to
the Minister of State for Energy, Department of Trade and Industry
on the state of security in the civil nuclear industry and the
effectiveness of security regulation. The Report is placed in
the Libraries of both Houses.
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