Appendix 1
S.I. 2013/126: memorandum from the Department
of Energy and Climate Change
Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Handling
(Finance and Fees) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/126)
1. In its letter to the Department of Energy
and Climate Change of 6 March 2013, the Joint Committee requested
a memorandum on the following point:
Given that regulation 11(3), read literally, could
be interpreted equally —
(a) as treating sub-paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) in
combination as an alternative to sub-paragraph (a) alone, or
(b) as treating sub-paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) in
combination as an alternative to sub-paragraphs (a), (c) and (d)
in combination,
explain which of those two interpretations in intended
and how the intention is achieved.
2. The intended effect of regulation 11(3) is
essentially as described in paragraph 1(b) above.
3. Regulation 11sets out the situations in which
an approved funded decommissioning programme (FDP) may be modified
without the Secretary of State's consent. Regulation 11(3) covers
two types of modification which are not "relevant modifications"
for the purposes of regulation 11(2): those which only involve
changes to the costs estimates contained in the FDP (sub-paragraph
(a)) and those which involve changes to the descriptions in the
FDP of the steps to be taken to decommission the installation
and manage its waste, which steps form the basis of those estimates
(Sub-paragraph (b)).
4. Regulation 11(4) (referred to in sub-paragraph
(c)) sets the conditions which a proposed modification of the
kind described in sub-paragraphs (a) or (b) must meet in order
for the Secretary of State's approval not to be required.
5. Regulation 14 (referred to in sub-paragraph
(d)) sets out the information that must be provided to the Secretary
of State in relation to the range of proposed modifications that
do not require his approval, including those described in sub-paragraphs
(a) and (b) of regulation 11(3).
6. Thus, regulation 11(3) is intended to exempt
modifications of the type described in sub-paragraphs (a) and
(b), provided in each case the conditions in regulation
11(4) and the requirements of regulation 14 are satisfied.
7. However, the Department agrees that because
of the way it is formatted it could, read literally, also be interpreted
as in paragraph 1(a) above, and is grateful to the Committee for
pointing this out. The Department apologises for this error and
plans to correct the instrument in due course.
Department of Energy and Climate Change
22 March 2013
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