HSE in talks with UK Treasury to halt nuclear brain drain to private sector

HSE in talks with UK Treasury to halt nuclear brain drain to private sector

	Published : Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:47 By : Agencies Print this Story

LONDON (AFX) - The Health & Safety Executive is locked in negotiations with the Treasury to bust the civil service pay scale and entice vital nuclear experts to vet a new generation of UK nuclear power stations, according to sources.

The HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), which is responsible for the critical two year licensing process to check new nuclear designs, is to start a major recruitment process in an attempt to hire dozens of the country's top nuclear scientists and stop a brain drain to the private sector.

Appropriately qualified personnel are scarce because they have not been needed for over twenty years since the last station, Sizewell B, was developed. But the HSE now faces an additional problem: its own existing staff could be lured to the private sector by lucrative pay rises.

'At the same time as the NII is resourcing up its organization, other companies such as Westinghouse, Areva and GE will want to employ similar people,' said one source from one of the big reactor designers. 'And those companies can pay more.'

A spokesperson for the NII said the HSE was now in talks with the Treasury to break the pay scale. The cost of paying the licensing scientists actually comes from the big nuclear companies themselves, but the pay scales are set by the government.

'We are currently exploring with the Treasury to change the salary packages for nuclear inspectors and once that's gone through we'll be initiating a recruitment campaign,' the spokesperson said.

French utility EDF told investors in November that it would look to submit initial designs this month, and the industry has been anticipating a 25-strong team of NII experts to look at the three different designs predicted from different bidders. However, insiders told AFX that the NII has so far earmarked just five inspectors, and the HSE now says it will not be receiving applications until April, after the government's Energy White Paper.

The licensing process is acutely time-sensitive, given that new low-carbon energy capacity is desperately needed in the UK as old nuclear power stations are shut down and climate change rises up the agenda. EDF chief executive Vincent De Rivaz said the designs should be submitted as soon as possible if the UK wants new build nuclear to come on line ten years from now.

One nuclear industry expert said he had been sceptical of the NII's claim at a workshop in October to be ready to look at the designs in the New Year.

'The reality is it hasnt really appointed anyone to do it,' he said. 'It hasnt been given any extra resources to go and recruit,' said the insider. 'If it gets more money from the nuclear companies it could go and find the right people.'

One source said the shortfall threatened to delay efforts to build new nuclear quickly. 'The regulator probably has enough people to carry it through the early steps of pre-licensing from the White Paper until the end of this year, but by the end of the year they need some significant resource unless they want this whole process to be slowed down,' the source said. 'If theyve got one man and a dog, nuclear isnt going to come in on time.'

A source close to EDF said the staffing issues were one of a variety of issues that needed to be resolved quickly.

'There are a number of reasons that could potentially affect the timetable,' the source said. 'Theres a process there that requires certain resource levels and a certain type of thinking. All I can say is that in order to properly process the designs an adequate level of resources is essential.'

EDF have lobbied the government to smooth the path to financing a new generation of nuclear power plants by setting a floor price for carbon. A reliable price would enable more certainty and give a boost to the troubled EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).

'Some kind of transition mechanism is needed before the market is up and running,' the source said. 'The Stern report said that some support mechanism in the UK to transit from where we are to a dynamic ETS may be required. The real debate is of what form that should take at the moment.'

george.hay@thomson.com

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