The interim chair of the new Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has been confirmed as former chief executive of Powergen, Nick Baldwin.
The ONR was established last week as an agency of the HSE, pending planned legislation to establish it as a statutory body. The Office will bring together the relevant nuclear regulatory functions of the HSE (through its Nuclear Directorate) and the Department for Transport.
The organisation, which employs about 450 people, will ensure that those authorised to carry out nuclear activities, in both the civil and defence sectors – from power stations and radioactive waste, to transport of materials and submarines – do so in a safe way. ONR staff will also regulate the security of civilian nuclear installations.
Stepping into the hot seat as interim chair of the new agency, Baldwin is expected to hold the position for a period of two to three years, pending the successful passage of legislation to establish the ONR on a statutory basis.
A former chief executive of Powergen, which he joined in 1989, he was, until recently, a non-executive director of Scottish and Southern Energy, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. He is the current chair of both Sanctuary Housing Group and Ambitious About Autism. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and a Member of the Institute of Energy.
Announcing his appointment, HSE chair Judith Hackitt said: “Nick Baldwin has extensive board-level experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, with substantial experience in governance, leadership, general management and strategic development. He has the skills and experience to lead ONR as it is established in its new form at this critical time. The safety of nuclear power is more in people’s thoughts now than it has been at any time for the last 25 years – ONR has an important job to do in ensuring that operators in the UK uphold the highest standards of safety.”
Commented Baldwin: “I’m very pleased to join the ONR as it starts its journey to become a new independent regulator. I look forward to working with Mike Weightman, HM chief inspector of nuclear installations, to create an organisation that delivers our mission of protecting people and society from the hazards of the nuclear industry.”
The ONR has its headquarters at the HSE offices in Bootle, Merseyside, as well as satellite offices in Cheltenham and London.
