In response to a consultation by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities have called on nuclear industry bosses to spend more on projects delivering a positive social impact in communities hosting nuclear facilities.
In its recently published Social Impacts and Communities Strategy, the NDA, which is the tax-payer funded body responsible for decommissioning redundant nuclear power plants and managing radioactive waste in the UK, has commendably committed to delivering the 'maximum positive social impact' and leaving a 'positive legacy' following decommissioning.
However whilst the NFLAs welcome these commitments, they are critical that 'the strategy paper is quite thin in detail and lacking specifics' and describe the £15 million annual sum currently earmarked to deliver the strategy (only 0.4% of overall expenditure) as 'an insufficient sum to ensure a 'positive legacy' across all sites'.
The NFLAs would like to see the NDA raise the budget in absolute terms in the short-term and to commit to making a higher percentage of revenue available in the longer-term for work of social value.
Rather than woolly aspirations, the NFLAs are also looking to the NDA to revise the strategy to include site-specific action plans identifying what activities will be delivered at each NDA-operated site, and when, particularly those which will create local jobs and apprenticeships; award local suppliers and contractors a greater share of business; reduce energy consumption on-site; and generate energy using renewable technologies. The electricity produced could be used to power decommissioning operations or be sold to the grid, creating an income that could in turn support projects of social value. Suppliers and sub-contractors engaged with NDA operations also need to awarded contracts based in part on their commitment to social value.
The strategy also fails to identify the in-kind support that NDA staff deliver to local social projects through volunteering or whether there is any commitment to supporting the creation of local social enterprises that can deliver services needed to deprived communities, create local jobs and are themselves income-generative, creating the so-called 'virtual cycle' where any income is spent in the local economy rather than being exported.
The NDA Consultation ends on 21 February, so responses are still being sought. Details of the consultation and the strategy can be seen at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nda-social-impact-and-communities-strategy-consultation-nov-2023
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