It is the most toxic job in Britain: chairmanship of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the government agency in charge of cleaning up Britain’s nuclear waste, The Telegraph reports. The cost of cleaning up Britain’s nuclear facilities is forecast to surpass £73 billion nearly seven months after former chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver announced his retirement, the Government has still not found a successor. Cleaver left the agency in the summer and the chairman’s role is held on an interim basis by Nick Baldwin.
In what industry sources believe is a clear attempt to make the job more attractive to potential candidates, the Government is understood to have increased the basic salary for the position from an initial £80,000 to up to £200,000. At that level, the lucky person who is chosen will be paid more than almost all permanent secretaries in Whitehall and more than the Prime Minister, who was paid £187,000 last year.
The increase in salary comes after Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, announced a further boost to the NDAs budget in his comprehensive spending review a few weeks ago, earmarking an additional £338m for the period 2010/2011.
Nevertheless, whoever succeeds Cleaver will have one of the toughest jobs in the country. The official cost of cleaning up Britain’s nuclear facilities is forecast to be more than £73 billion, 16 per cent higher than estimated last year. Much of the cost comes from dismantling buildings and clearing sites from individual operators managing locations such as Sellafield in Cumbria.
A spokesman for the Department for Business confirmed that the post would be advertised this weekend.
-VT Group, the support services group, and Finmeccanica, the Italian defence giant, are the only two remaining bidders in the auction for Project Services, a subsidiary of BNFL. Project Services offers technical waste and decommissioning services in the nuclear and hazardous waste industries and operates in the UK, continental Europe, the former Soviet Union and Japan.
In what industry sources believe is a clear attempt to make the job more attractive to potential candidates, the Government is understood to have increased the basic salary for the position from an initial £80,000 to up to £200,000. At that level, the lucky person who is chosen will be paid more than almost all permanent secretaries in Whitehall and more than the Prime Minister, who was paid £187,000 last year.
The increase in salary comes after Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, announced a further boost to the NDAs budget in his comprehensive spending review a few weeks ago, earmarking an additional £338m for the period 2010/2011.
Nevertheless, whoever succeeds Cleaver will have one of the toughest jobs in the country. The official cost of cleaning up Britain’s nuclear facilities is forecast to be more than £73 billion, 16 per cent higher than estimated last year. Much of the cost comes from dismantling buildings and clearing sites from individual operators managing locations such as Sellafield in Cumbria.
A spokesman for the Department for Business confirmed that the post would be advertised this weekend.
-VT Group, the support services group, and Finmeccanica, the Italian defence giant, are the only two remaining bidders in the auction for Project Services, a subsidiary of BNFL. Project Services offers technical waste and decommissioning services in the nuclear and hazardous waste industries and operates in the UK, continental Europe, the former Soviet Union and Japan.
No comments:
Post a Comment