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Role of the Taskforce

The Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce will examine all aspects of the regulation of civil and defence nuclear. It will explore how the regulation of safety, environmental, planning, and other relevant areas can be improved, with the aim of supporting energy security, national security, and economic growth in the UK.

The taskforce will help reinforce the importance of our Defence Nuclear Enterprise, which supports delivery of the government’s triple-lock commitment to the UK’s nuclear deterrent. It will also explore better international alignment so reactor designs approved abroad could be green lit quicker, minimising expensive changes.

Terms of reference 

1. Nuclear regulation is part of a wider regulatory framework in the UK and is international in nature. Much work is already in hand to identify opportunities to refine the UK’s regulatory framework and its application to support Growth, Net Zero and Defence. The Taskforce shall therefore build on past reviews, relevant legislative and other reforms that are underway, and previous actions taken by government and regulators. In particular, the Taskforce should work closely with the independent DEFRA Review and DBT’s Regulatory Reforms. We will maintain our commitment to implementing relevant international agreements and standards and the Taskforce will enhance our understanding of how we compare against relevant international comparators by providing a comparison of the UK Nuclear Framework against those of other comparable nuclear nations, especially the US and France.

2. The Taskforce should be ambitious, and its aim is to provide clear, actionable recommendations for whole of government. It should include planning, environmental, nuclear and conventional safety, the relevant regulators, other delivery partners and industry. The objective is to drive faster, better value for money delivery in both civil and defence nuclear, whilst not compromising safety outcomes.

4. The Taskforce shall be led by a suitable independent person, supported by a panel of experts and a small team of civil servants.

5. The Taskforce will respect the devolved nature of areas of responsibility within the nuclear landscape The Taskforce will not make recommendations for Devolved Governments in devolved areas.

6. The Taskforce will provide an interim report within 3 months of the lead being appointed. Final recommendations will be put to the Prime Minister, Energy Secretary, Defence Secretary and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in summer 2025.

Call for evidence

The Taskforce launched a call for evidence to support its work. This closed to responses on 19 May 2025.

List of members

John Fingleton – Taskforce Lead

John is an Irish and British economist and former CEO of the Office of Fair Trading, he was a Senior Independent Member of the Council of Innovate UK until 2024, as well as a Member of Board for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) from 2021 to 2024. John runs a company advising and supporting clients to successful resolution of complex and novel regulatory problems. He has a profile across a wide range of business sectors and is considered an expert in business, government and regulation, with a reputation for innovative thinking.

Professor Andrew Sherry

Andrew is Professor of Materials and Structures at the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials at the University of Manchester. He has experience leading science and innovation, skills development, and infrastructure programmes across industry, national laboratories and academia. He was previously Chief Scientist and Special Advisor at the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory. He was also previously Chair of the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee, providing independent advice to the Secretary of State for Defence. In that role he was known for his ability to offer clear and pragmatic solutions to complex problems.

Mark Bassett

Mark is a member of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) and recently retired from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) after 8 years where he was a Director and the Special Assistant to the Director General (DG) for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards. His role included dealing with, and providing advice to the DG on, a wide range of complex technical, diplomatic, and political matters in these areas. He has held senior leadership roles in the nuclear sector in the UK public and private sectors, as well as the international civil service, and was DCI (Deputy Chief Nuclear Inspector) at the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) for a number of years with over two decades in ONR where he held a wide range of roles across all nuclear sectors, both civil and defence.

Dame Sue Ion

Sue is a British engineer and an expert advisor on the nuclear power industry with a career spanning 45 years. She was elected a member of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2012 for contributions to nuclear fuel development and is a Fellow of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. She is a strong advocate for nuclear power and has a background advising government about nuclear reactors and countering the negativity caused by incidents such as at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. She represented the UK at the IAEA as a member of the Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Energy and Chaired the EU Euratom Science and Technology Committee. She Chaired the UK’s Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board, is a Member of the ONR Independent Advisory Panel and is the current Honorary President of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear.

Mustafa Latif-Aramesh

Mustafa is a leading infrastructure planning lawyer at TLT LLP, and Parliamentary Agent. He has advised on numerous small modular and advanced nuclear developments in the UK (including in relation to regulatory justification, siting and consenting), advised on over 25 nationally significant infrastructure projects (including the Lower Thames Crossing and the Hinkley Point C Connection) and has advised central government on infrastructure planning and regulatory reforms, including on the recent Infrastructure Planning Bill. Mustafa’s work spans working for developers, central government and regulators, particularly on Development Consent Orders. He is authorised by Parliament to draft and promote legislation, and is also a Visiting Fellow at King’s College London.

Contact

Email contact: nuclearregulatorytaskforce@energysecurity.gov.uk