NIA Programme Management Board

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

Background

The Programme Management Board was set up in 2011 by the nuclear industry and the UK government to try to prevent their plans for eight new nuclear stations from going off the rails.

The board was the brainchild of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), which represents nuclear companies in the UK. It brings the French firms, EDF Energy and Areva, the US giant, Westinghouse, and other companies together with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). It also includes the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the government’s safety watchdog.

According to energy minister Charles Hendry, its aim was to facilitate the nuclear power programme by “removing unnecessary barriers and risk”. Minutes of its first meeting in November 2011, and related correspondence, were released by the DECC under Freedom of Information laws.

People

• Chris Savage - Since 2010 senior adviser to the Programme Management Board, focusing on delivery of the UK's nuclear new build programme. In a separate role, he acts as the NIA's Project Manager - Programme Management and Capability.

Resources

• Rob Edwards, Waiving the rules to keep the nuclear power programme on course, Private Eye, 21 March 2012