ONR BOARD MEETING Paper No ONR/14/06/02a Meeting Date: 24 July 2014 Agenda item: 02a FOI Exemptions FOI Status: Open
TRIM Ref: 2014/264009
Minutes of the ONR Board Meeting held at 10.00 on Tuesday 24 June 2014 at Room 6.1.29 Redgrave Court Merton Road Bootle Liverpool L20 7HS
Board members present: Also attending: Nick Baldwin – Chair David Senior Steve Bundred Dave Caton Jonathan Baume Claire Lyons John Crackett Paula Wheeler Andy Hall Mina Golshan John Jenkins Les Philpott Liz Siberry
Secretariat: Sue Johns
1 WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS, APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
1.1 There were no introductions, apologies for absence or declarations of interest.
2 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING, MATTERS ARISING, ACTION POINTS
2.1 Minutes of the last meeting held on 1 May 2014 – Paper no ONR/14/05/02a
2.1.1 The minutes of the last meeting held on 1 May 2014 were agreed.
2.2 Matters Arising
2.2.1 The CPNI course on cyber-security arranged for Board members who did not receive training on 2 April 2014 had been cancelled. Steve Bundred asked if the discussion item due to come to the July Board meeting was predicated on all members having had the training. John Jenkins undertook to arrange to circulate the presentation delivered by CPNI on 2 April.
Action Circulate the CPNI presentation from 2 April 2014 cyber-security training course
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2.3 Summary of Board Decisions and Action Log June 2014 – Paper no ONR/14/05/02b
2.3.1 The summary of the decisions and actions was noted. In response to Nick Baldwin’s query regarding whether the item on REPPIR, timetabled for the November meeting, was soon enough given that Board members had raised it at the May meeting, John Jenkins confirmed that it was not time critical.
3 CHAIR’S REPORT
3.1 Nick Baldwin reported that, since the Board meeting on 1 May 2014:
He and Jonathan Baume had attended the HSE Board meeting, but there were no matters discussed of direct relevance to ONR.
The Advocacy Programme:
a) had generated a number of meetings with media contacts, including main news and trade magazine contacts. An article had been published in The Independent, which was also carried in the London Evening Standard;
b) had generated several articles in engineering and trade journals. Subjects covered included ONR’s recruitment policies and its role as an independent regulator. As a result of one of the interviews, Andy Hall would be discussing regulatory issues with Will Dalyrmple from Nuclear Engineering.
c) Had resulted in very fruitful meetings with other regulators about the challenges of independent regulation.
He met Jeremy Moore, DG Strategy, Planning and Analysis Group, DWP, the senior sponsorship link. Regular quarterly meetings would be held in the future.
He attended the Currie Lecture “The case for the British model of Independent Regulation 30 years on”.
He had met, with Baroness Verma, search consultants Saxton Bampfylde about the forthcoming recruitment exercise for the ONR Non-executive “Security” member post, for which there were solid plans in place.
He had been notified of Liz Siberry’s decision not to apply for the above post but would remain on the Board until her term comes to an end on 30 September 2014. Board members thanked Liz for the contribution she had made to ONR on civil nuclear security and corporate governance.
Nick Baldwin also advised that his regular meetings with the DWP and DECC Ministers had been discontinued in favour of an “as needed/open door” approach. This was a strong indicator of the high degree of confidence Ministers have in ONR.
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4 HSE MATTERS
4.1 Les Philpott advised that there were no significant discussions or issues to report. However, he would be writing formally to HSE when ONR’s Annual Report was finalised.
Steve Bundred noted that he would be contacting the Chair of HSE’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, to tell him that ONR would be publishing its Risk Register shortly.
5 PERFORMANCE AND FINANCE
5.1 ONR Chief Executive’s Report – Paper no ONR/14/05/05a
5.1.1 From his written report John Jenkins highlighted:
The underspend on travel and subsistence. Paula Wheeler would be analysing Quarter 1’s data to understand the reasons behind this. John invited Paula Wheeler to comment on the DWP loan facility. She noted that ONR was currently running at 41% of its borrowing.
Congratulations were extended to Mark Foy for the interview he gave to the BBC about the safety limits relating to the graphite bricks at Dungeness B, which was used in a number of BBC broadcasts on 4 June 2014.
The capacity issue raised in the articles in the Independent and Evening Standard, mentioned earlier, was not new and the Board fully recognised that ONR was going through the peak in terms of replacing inspectors, which would continue for the next two to three years.
The Lydd Action Group had not appealed the judgement made in favour of ONR, in which the Judge made clear that the Secretary of State was entitled to rely on ONR’s work and advice in the case.
Steve Bundred asked who would provide the training for appearances before a Parliamentary Select Committees mentioned in the written report, and at what cost. John Jenkins said that the Chair and a number of the senior management team had received the training, which was generic in nature. Dave Caton advised that an ex-civil servant under “Civil Service Learning”, at a standard cost of £1500, had provided it.
John Crackett commented that the end of year performance ratings given in the report showed discipline and focus within the organisation as well as a culture that recognised and challenged poor performance. He also noted the issue of leave harmonisation and asked about the cost involved. John Jenkins advised that harmonisation brought parity across ONR, especially for new recruits, and Dave Caton confirmed that it affected only 26 staff so the cost was limited.
Prior to Andy Hall reporting on Regulatory Matters, Nick Baldwin congratulated him on his appointment as Chair of European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group.
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From his written report Andy Hall highlighted:
The formal cautions were issued to Sellafield employees following an investigation which revealed that unauthorised work had been carried out in violation of systems to safely manage work. The investigation found no fault with the company.
The investigation into an incident at Sellafield for which an Improvement Notice had been issued showed that the company did not fully understand the design intent of systems to contain radiological materials in the Windscale Vitrification Plant (WVP). As a consequence, lessons had been learnt for both the company and ONR. WVP production line 3 is shutdown pending cleanup operations. In addition, a fire safety inspection in a new facility undergoing construction at Sellafield had identified shortfalls and resulted in an Enforcement Notice being issued.
The Improvement Notice issued to Devonport was closed out following a positive response from the company
The agreement given to BAE Systems for the launch of the next nuclear submarine was an example of ONR managing risk by putting the launch on ‘hold’ until concerns with the wet dock area had been adequately resolved.
AWE had reported a safety failure in fire detection and alarm systems and had taken action. ONR was considering what further action might be required.
An incident, in which a Magnox irradiated fuel transport flask was found on arrival at its destination to have radioactive contamination trapped in an area inaccessible during transport, was not the first incident of this type. ONR was investigating why the lessons learnt previously had not been properly implemented.
The closure of the Imperial College experimental reactor equated to a major reduction of hazard at the site. However, the risk had transferred to Sellafield. Liz Siberry asked whether there was an awareness of the potential cultural risk at senior management level at Sellafield. Andy Hall advised that steps were being taken by the current management to ensure that workers recognised the risks and that there was a degree of central control.
Jonathan Baume asked about an article in that day’s Daily Telegraph relating to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the provision towards the cost of the legacy. John Jenkins advised that he had attended a useful briefing by NDA which covered this point and that he would arrange for the presentation to be circulated.
Andy Hall informed the Board that ONR inspectors were considering the implications of an anomaly identified during periodic shutdown of Heysham 1, Reactor 1. Ultrasonic testing in one of the reactor's boilers had identified an anomalous reading. The boiler is shutdown pending further tests.
Action Circulate the NDA presentation. Barbara Woods
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5.2 Finance, Performance and Assurance – End of Year Summary Paper no ONR/14/05/05b
5.2.1 Les Philpott introduced the End of Year Summary, which included the Quarterly Assurance Report (QAR). He highlighted that ONR had finished Financial Year 2013/14 in a very good position as regards ONR’s performance. In relation to the planned publication of the Risk Register, a detailed Q&A had been prepared, which he would arrange to be circulated to Board members.
Mina Golshan added that this was the last QAR in the current format. From Q1, 2014/15, the QAR would be more concise and would be published on the ONR website as well as being sent to Ministers. She asked for the Board’s agreement to send the QAR to the Secretary of State, which was given.
Commenting on the move to a more concise report, Steve Bundred noted that it was important to ensure that cross-ONR/HSE issues such as conventional Health and Safety were not over-looked. David Senior gave assurance that good integration of cross-cutting issues was a priority and cited joint working on HSE’s campaign to raise awareness of Legionella as an example of success. He also advised that ONR was building a database of RIDDOR reported incidents to assist this work.
Commenting on the End of Year Summary, John Jenkins drew attention to the Defence Programme, and highlighted that the Programme was being transformed thanks to the efforts of the new team.
Les Philpott highlighted the Key Performance Indicators for 2014/15. He explained that these would form the basis of the future concise report.
John Jenkins advised that ONR measured a large number of performance indicators but that those listed were critical. In addition, Dave Caton reminded the Board that there would be a quarterly HR report that would cover people related issues.
The Board noted the proposed list of 8 Key Performance Indicators.
Actions Circulate the Q&A that has been prepared for the publication of the Risk Register. Secretariat
Send the QAR to the Secretary of State. Mina Golshan
5.3 ONR Annual Report and Financial Position 2013/14 - Paper no ONR/14/05/05c
5.3.1 Introducing the paper, Paula Wheeler noted that it would form part of HSE’s reporting for the last time. The Board had seen and commented on an earlier draft and ONR’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) had also considered a near final version. She asked that drafting comments be sent to her as a matter of urgency, but invited substantial comments.
Les Philpott acknowledged that this was another first for ONR and it was consistently good. In particular, the inclusion of the Chief Nuclear Inspector’s (CNI) Report had been a considerable success.
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Mina Golshan briefly introduced the CNI’s Report. She noted that it set the regulatory agenda for the year and that a draft had been presented to industry, without comment. Andy Hall highlighted that he had been keen to ensure that the Report was evidence based throughout.
Liz Siberry expressed some concern that the section on security did not mention the work that had been undertaken on cyber and information security. She noted that effort had gone into building capability and understanding of the issue, and in building senior security capability within the industry. John Jenkins agreed that these were good, strategic points that should be included and Les Philpott remarked that the Annual Report had moved forward significantly since last year.
Nick Baldwin said that a copy of the finalised Report should be sent to HSE. Les Philpott agreed to take this forward.
Action: Review the security section of the Annual Report with a view to reflecting the work on cyber security both internally and encouraging greater engagement at senior level within the industry - David Senior
A finalised copy of ONR’s Annual Report to be sent formally to HSE – Les Philpott
6 STRATEGY AND PLANNING
6.1 New ONR Strategy - Paper no ONR/14/05/06
6.1.1 Les Philpott introduced the paper noting the strategy provides vision and direction for ONR and nuclear regulation for the next 5 years, and meets our statutory obligations to have a new strategy in place by 1 December 2014. The draft was a short crisp document and as a result of the high quality of the draft, the timetable had been revised to bring forward publication. Publication one month earlier than required would send a positive signal.
Nick Baldwin suggested that a short section on the context in which ONR was regulating was needed to both ensure that it could be read as a stand alone document and to be consistent with the recently published Annual Operating Plan. John Crackett remarked on the impressive standard of the current draft. He welcomed the conciseness and particularly commended the final page. The Board agreed
Les Philpott asked Board members to send any drafting comments to him as a matter of urgency.
The Board agreed to the accelerated timetable.
Action Board members to send drafting comments to Les Philpott urgently
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7 GOVERNANCE
7.1 Proposed Future Meeting Schedule for the ONR Statutory Board and its Committees - Paper no ONR/14/05/07
7.1.1 Les Philpott noted that previously the Board had met monthly to handle the significant amount of work required in the run-up to vesting and to establish good governance. Having achieved vesting he proposed that the Board looked towards having fewer, better quality meetings, which focus on regulatory issues. With the Chair’s appointment confirmed for 5 years, this would allow the Secretariat to establish a pattern and dates well into the future. Les reassured the Board that the timing of the September strategy event was only “out of sync” this year. In future years, it would be well placed.
Steve Bundred commented that the sequence of meetings to consider the Annual Governance Statement involving ARAC and the Board needs careful consideration.
John Jenkins noted that there would be items of business every month and that there would be a range of ways to deal with them, including calling an additional Board meeting if the business demanded. Routine business would be handled by correspondence.
Les Philpott took the Board through each of the decisions required and all were agreed. Noting that Chris Hayes would join the Board for the March meeting, John Crackett suggested he should be invited to dinner the night before.
Action Invite Chris Hayes to join the Board for dinner in March 2015 - Secretariat
8 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
8.1 No items were raised.
9 DATE AND VENUE OF THE NEXT MEETING
9.1 The Board would meet next on Thursday 24 July 2014 at from 10am to 3pm in Rose Court, London. The meeting would include diversity training.
10 BOARD COMMITTEE MATTERS
10.1 ONR Remuneration Committee, HSE Pay Committee held on 2 June 2014 Oral Report
10.1.1 John Crackett reported that all recommendations had been accepted in full, and that he had attended the HSE Pay Committee meeting for the last time.
10.2 Minutes of the ONR Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Meeting held on 2 June 2014 – Paper no ONR/14/05/10
10.2.1 Steve Bundred advised that ARAC had a positive discussion on Sellafield and that small but tangible examples of progress were presented.
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He also noted that the Internal Audit report on the governance of the Board’s involvement in the budgetary process had been discussed.
The meeting closed at 12:10pm.
Following the close of the meeting, there was a closed session for ONR Board members only.
Items discussed during the closed session
Chief Nuclear Inspector’s Report
Pay and pay negotiations
Security investigation
Cyber security
Scottish independence
The general election 2015
Europe – ONR’s strategy
Information security at Sellafield
Approved by Nick Baldwin, ONR Chair
24 July 2014
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