Dounreay staff to voice fears on cuts in nuclear clean-up cash

Published on Wednesday 25 November 2009 20:47

DOUNREAY workers are today expected to question the head of the agency charged with cleaning up the nuclear power station site amid fears that future budgets may be cut.

Tony Fountain, chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), is to visit the Caithness complex amid reports the government was considering reducing Britain's 4 billion nuclear clean-up budget.

Any cuts to NDA funding, as part of a general review of spending by public bodies, might lead to major projects at Dounreay being delayed or even scrapped.

More than 2.6bn is still to be spent at the site between now and 2025. In all, more than 100 buildings have been razed, but more than 300 remain and several major projects have yet to be tackled.

This year, 156 million is being spent at Dounreay and the provisional budget for next year is 154.8m.

In 2011-12, when some major construction projects are due to start, the budget is due to reach 183.7m.

Staff have already been warned the NDA, which spends nearly 1bn a year, will not be immune from the cost-savings drive during the recession, but no specific changes have been made to the programme.

A source at Dounreay said: "Everyone knows what's happening with government finances so it wouldn't come as a surprise that the amount of money available is reduced.

"What no-one knows is how much less there will be in future."

However, a spokesman for the NDA said: "There are no cuts planned at the NDA. We have already told Dounreay what it is getting for the year starting April 2010.

"But it is a difficult financial situation over the next few years and we are looking at how we can do things better and more efficiently."