New Nuclear Agency Faces Challenges
A new MORI public opinion survey shows last week's establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to have made little impact on public awareness. The NDA is also shown to be facing some challenges with regard to its anticipated tendering of nuclear clean-up contracts to overseas companies, as well as a wider lack of confidence in the decisions being made about the future of nuclear energy in Britain.
The biggest restructuring of the nuclear energy industry for decades, the establishment of a new Government agency to take responsibility for nearly 16350bn of British nuclear liabilities, has passed with little awareness from the British Public. In a MORI telephone survey of 1,032 people, conducted last weekend, only one in five (22%) have heard anything at all about the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; just two per cent have heard "a great deal". The survey showed that even among the professional and managerial classes (the ABs) just 29% had heard anything about the new agency.
The NDA will initially purchase services from the existing operators of nuclear sites, BNFL (or its subsidiary, British Nuclear Group) and UKAEA, for the next three years, after which it will offer contracts for wider tender. Many US and French companies are among those likely to be in the running. MORI asked about the acceptability of nuclear clean-up contracts going to companies based outside the UK. This proves to be a controversial issue, since 61% believe such companies should not be allowed to bid for these contracts, while only 34% think they should.
Previous MORI research has shown the public to be split on the future of the nuclear energy industry. In December 2004, support for "newbuild" of nuclear power stations to replace those scheduled to close over the next few years (35%) overtook opposition (30%) for the first time; though a further 35% remain undecided. Last weekend's survey shows that building public confidence in the nuclear energy industry is still very much a live issue, and a challenge to the success of the NDA. Only four in 10 (38%) are very or fairly confident that the right decisions will be made regarding the future of the industry.
Given the special issues associated with nuclear energy and the strong emotions it can arouse, it will be essential for the NDA, the Government and the nuclear industry to work together to build public confidence if a realistic future for nuclear energy is planned after the election.
Technical details
MORI conducted 1,032 telephone interviews using random digit dialling in the period 1-4 April 2005. The results were weighted to be representative of the GB population aged 16+.
