The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the independent statutory regulator for nuclear safety and security in the UK, have announced the publication of its Corporate Plan for 2025-2026. The document outlines the watchdog’s strategic priorities and activities for the coming year, reinforcing its commitment to maintaining the highest standards across its nuclear industry.

The new Corporate Plan serves as a roadmap for the ONR’s regulatory efforts, focusing on key areas to ensure the continued safe and secure operation of existing nuclear facilities, robust oversight of new nuclear build projects, and effective regulation of radioactive waste management and decommissioning.

While the full details of the plan are extensive, core themes include:

• • Maintaining High Safety Standards: Ensuring licensees rigorously comply with nuclear safety, security, and conventional health and safety regulations.
  • Strategic Regulatory Oversight: Providing effective scrutiny of new build programmes, including emerging technologies like Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
  • Decommissioning and Waste Management: Overseeing the safe and secure cleanup of legacy sites and management of nuclear waste.
  • Nuclear Security and Transport: Upholding stringent standards for the security of nuclear materials and their transport.
  • Organisational Capability: Enhancing the ONR’s own capabilities and expertise to meet evolving industry challenges.

The ONR emphasizes that the plan aims to provide clarity and transparency for the nuclear industry and the public on how it will fulfil its mission to protect society from nuclear hazards.