Energy and Climate Change written statement – made at on 30 June 2009.
David Kidney
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Energy and Climate Change
My noble Friend the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change today made the following statement:
My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions with responsibility for health and safety, Lord Mckenzie, and I are today launching a consultation on our proposed restructuring of the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Directorate.
The proposed restructuring is designed to reinvigorate the organisational arrangements of nuclear regulation to take account of current and future challenges in the nuclear environment. The restructuring will consolidate regulatory functions currently carried out by separate parts of Government into a new, sector specific regulatory body that will have greater autonomy than at present but remain within the auspices of HSE. The Government propose to effect the restructuring through a Legislative Reform Order.
The regulator would be named in legislation as responsible for its regulatory functions, which at the moment lie either with the Secretary of State or the HSE. The new body will be governed by an independent board comprising of predominantly non-executive members. For the first time the position of chief inspector would become a statutory office, preserving the independence of regulatory decision making. The Government believe that these measures will enhance the transparency and accountability of nuclear regulation overall.
These proposals for reform seek to build on the existing regulatory strengths, while creating a modern organisation that is empowered to meet the challenges of the changing nuclear environment; creating a regulator that is widely acclaimed for its excellence in this new environment, and can maintain its world-class reputation into the future.
The consultation will close on
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
