OFFICE FOR NUCLEAR REGULATION (ONR): POWERS AND LICENSING

1. Introduction

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is the United Kingdom’s statutory regulator for civil nuclear safety, security, safeguards and certain nuclear-related health and safety matters. It was formally established under Part 3 of the Energy Act 2013. Its principal licensing function operates under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (NIA 1965).

The central principle is that a nuclear installation cannot lawfully be installed or operated on a site without a nuclear site licence. Only a suitable corporate body may hold such a licence, and the licence is not transferable.

2. ONR’s Licensing Powers

Under the NIA 1965, ONR determines whether an applicant is suitable to hold a nuclear site licence. Before granting a licence for a new installation, ONR considers the suitability of the site, the proposed safety arrangements, organisational capability and the applicant’s ability to comply with licence conditions.

A nuclear site licence is effectively a life-cycle regulatory instrument. It covers activities ranging from design and construction through commissioning, operation, modification and eventual decommissioning. ONR attaches conditions that it considers necessary or desirable in the interests of safety.

The standard regime contains 36 standard licence conditions, dealing with matters such as safety cases, training, emergency arrangements, maintenance, inspections, construction, modifications, radioactive waste and decommissioning.

3. Directions, Permissions and Enforcement

ONR's powers extend beyond merely issuing the licence. Licence conditions enable ONR to require directions, approvals, consents, specifications, notifications and agreements. These mechanisms allow ONR to create regulatory hold-points, meaning that a licensee may be prohibited from progressing to a particular activity until ONR gives the necessary permission.

ONR also possesses enforcement powers under the Energy Act 2013, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and other relevant legislation. Government material confirms that these powers can include measures capable of requiring activities presenting unacceptable risks to be stopped.

4. Licensing Does Not Equal Planning Permission

An important legal distinction is that an ONR nuclear site licence does not itself authorise every aspect of construction or operation. A project may additionally require development consent or planning permission, environmental permits and other regulatory authorisations. ONR's own guidance confirms that granting a site licence is not, by itself, permission to commence nuclear-related construction.

5. Case Law

R (Theberton and Eastbridge Action Group on Sizewell Ltd) v Office for Nuclear Regulation

Case: Judicial review concerning ONR's grant of the Sizewell C nuclear site licence.

Facts: The claimant challenged ONR's May 2024 licensing decision, principally concerning whether coastal flood-defence arrangements were adequately addressed within the nuclear site licensing framework. The claim sought judicial review of ONR's decision.

Legal Issue: Whether ONR had acted lawfully in granting the nuclear site licence in circumstances involving the site's external coastal hazards and regulatory control.

Judgment: The challenge to the ONR licensing decision was dismissed. The government's 2025 Nuclear Regulatory Review records the site-licence challenge as unsuccessful.

Legal Principle: ONR's licensing decisions are subject to public-law scrutiny, but judicial review examines legality and decision-making process rather than simply substituting the court's technical assessment for that of the specialist regulator.

Significance: The litigation demonstrates that the ONR's statutory licensing power is substantial but not immune from judicial review.

R (An Taisce) v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2014] EWCA Civ 1111

Facts: The case concerned the development consent process for Hinkley Point C and the interaction between environmental assessment and the highly regulated nuclear framework. The Court of Appeal considered the significance of ONR's nuclear licensing and safety assessment work.

Legal Principle: Regulatory decision-makers must make an informed judgment based upon the information available, while recognising the existence of specialist regulatory regimes.

Significance: The case illustrates how nuclear licensing, environmental assessment and planning law operate as interconnected but legally distinct regimes.

6. Conclusion

The ONR licensing system represents a risk-based, life-cycle model of nuclear regulation. The NIA 1965 provides the licensing foundation, while the Energy Act 2013 gives ONR its institutional and enforcement framework. Through licence conditions, inspections, safety cases, permissions and enforcement measures, ONR maintains continuous regulatory control rather than treating licensing as a one-time approval. Judicial review remains an important legal safeguard against unlawful regulatory decision-making.