The Decommissioning Delivery Partnership (DDP) was established in 2016 and involves 17 supply chain companies working with Sellafield Ltd across 3 lots.

Together they demolish redundant buildings, clean up land and get waste out of the site’s legacy ponds and silos.

The partnership has now been extended until 2026.

So far, it has delivered £385 million worth of project work and recorded 4.5 million hours without a lost time accident.

Highlights have included the demolition of the diffuser on top of the Windscale Pile Chimney and retrieval of waste and sludge from the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond.

Nearly one third (32.4%) of all supply chain spend has gone to small to medium-sized enterprises and the partnership has created 90 new jobs. It aims to increase that job creation number five-fold by the end of the contract.

The companies involved have also supported Sellafield Ltd’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives by training dozens of people to be mental health first aiders.

Glenn McCracken, chairman of the DDP programme board for Sellafield Ltd, said:

DDP has gained a reputation for being a fast and flexible way to get work done on the Sellafield site.

Every working day at Sellafield there are an estimated 800 people carrying out work through the DDP framework; from crane operators to scaffolders, and project planners to electricians.

We have taken on work through the framework which has been much broader than the vast decommissioning remit, including constructing the new high-security fencing and adapting an existing plant so that it can accept waste from the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo.

Future projects include:

• clearing land and removing the heat exchangers around the redundant Calder Hall reactors and turbine halls
• helping to plan the dewatering of the Pile Fuel Storage Pond
• helping Sellafield Ltd to clean up the Thorp and Magnox reprocessing plants
• demolishing structures such as the Windscale Pile Chimney

The DDP framework consists of 3 ‘lots’ comprising the companies below:

Lot 1 (Remediation, Pile Fuel Cladding Silo, Pile Fuel Storage Pond, other major projects)

• Integrated Decommissioning Solutions (comprising Atkins, Altrad Hertel, North West Projects and Westlakes Engineering)
• Nexus Decommissioning Alliance (Costain, Mott Macdonald, Nuvia, Squibb Group)
• ADAPT (Orano, Doosan, Atkins)
• Cumbria Nuclear Solutions Ltd (Jacobs, React, James Fisher Nuclear, Shepley Engineers, Westinghouse Electric Company, WYG Engineering).

Lot 2 (First Generation Magnox Storage Pond)

• The Decommissioning Alliance (Jacobs, Atkins, Westinghouse Electric Company UK Ltd)

Lot 3 (Magnox Swarf Storage Silo)

• I3 Decommissioning Partners (Wood, Altrad Hertel, Shepley Engineers)

Whether you are looking to gain an extra qualification, go to university, get on-the-job experience or start your career, there are lots of exciting opportunities for your future. Find out more here.

On the job experience

Prepare for the world of work with a traineeship

Traineeships are available for 16 to 24 year olds and are an opportunity for you to gain real work experience, acquire new job skills and improve your English and maths, if you need to. They can last up to 6 months and can be tailored to help you get ready for a job or apprenticeship.

Earn while you learn with an apprenticeship

Apprenticeships provide hands-on experience, a salary and a chance to train while you work.

Further and higher education

Further education

You can continue your studies after secondary school through a range of further education courses, available in different subjects at different levels – ranging from basic English and maths to Higher National Diplomas. Further education also includes technical and applied qualifications, which will provide you with skills and training to specialise in a specific technical job.

T Levels are new courses coming in September 2020

T Levels are brand new, 2-year courses designed with employers that will be equivalent to 3 A Levels. As the next step after GCSEs, they combine classroom theory, practical learning and a 3-month industry placement to give young people the technical skills, knowledge and experience needed to get a job in a skilled profession.

Continue your studies in higher education

You can find and apply for most higher education courses online. If you don’t get a place on your chosen university course you can apply for other courses through Clearing.

Exam results helpline

The Exam Results Helpline is a resource from the National Careers Service for students receiving their A Level and GCSE results and their parents. It provides advice from experienced careers advisers on the options available to them. 

Scotland

The helpline number will open in Scotland from 6 August to 14 August. 

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The helpline number will then open for students in the rest of the UK on from 15 August to 29 August.

Career opportunities

Find a job with our careers website

There are a range of great jobs available online, and we can help you find one through our dedicated jobs website.

Learn about different careers through My Way In

My Way In shares stories and advice from people in work and employers in a range of different fields. You’ll find tips to help you broaden your experience and the number of jobs you have access to as well as information about the industries which are likely to have vacancies in the future.

Support vulnerable adults with a career in adult social care

Adult social care attracts all kinds of people with one thing in common – a desire to help make a difference every day. If you’re the sort of person who treats others with respect, listens to their needs, understands their emotions, and is warm, kind and honest, then social care could be the career for you.

Discover a career in STEM

The government is working across industry and engineering institutions to support initiatives across the UK to give young people an inspiring first-hand experience of engineering.

Embark on a rewarding career in the public sector

There are a host of rewarding jobs in the public sector that you can get involved in. From teaching to nursing – the public sector is looking for people like you.

Get careers advice and inspiration

Need further advice on what to do next? Our career services provide free and impartial careers information, advice and guidance.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, gain skills and experience, and contribute to your community. There are lots of ways to get involved.

Learn new things and take part in the National Citizen Service (NCS)

NCS is a life-changing programme open to all teenagers aged 15 to 17 in England and Northern Ireland to discover who they are and what they can do. If you want to boost your UCAS statement or CV, meet incredible people, get your voice heard and have a lot of fun while you’re at it, then NCS is for you.

Today (16 July 2019), The Planning Inspectorate published its Annual Report for 2018/19. The report shows that it is making great strides in modernising the way it works and is on track to improve its performance and meet targets during the next 12 months.

Commenting on the improvements highlighted in the report, Sarah Richards, Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate said:

”This, the second year of our journey of planned improvements, has begun to show beneficial impacts on our performance. The programme to transform our end to end operational delivery processes is firmly under way and customers will soon see an improved and simpler appeals casework portal.”

Key points from the report include:

• Casework performance in Wales broadly met or exceeded targets
• Casework performance in England is improving
• 99.4% of Local Plan examinations completed in agreed timescales
• All Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) applications were determined within statutory timetables
• The Inspectorate has successfully recruited the required number of new Inspectors and Appeal Planning Officers to support an improved level of performance.
• The Performance Recovery programme is on track to deliver performance improvements over the next 12 months.

Journalists wanting further information should contact the Planning Inspectorate Press Office, on: 0303 444 5004 or 0303 444 5005 or email: pressoffice@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is seeking views on proposals to revise Harbour Order (HO) application fees. The consultation, which launches on 16th July, gives Local Harbour Authorities and anyone interested in, or involved with, harbour activities that take place in England and the Port of Milford Haven (a reserved trust port) the chance to have their say on the proposed changes.

HO has been administered by the MMO since 2010, through a delegated function from the Department for Transport (DfT). However, the current fee structure was last updated 25 years ago in 1994 and does not reflect the actual costs to the MMO in determining HO applications, nor does it recognise the increased complexity of these applications.

Despite significant under recovery of costs since 2010, the MMO has taken actions to improve services and increase efficiencies in the processing of HO. This includes the allocation of dedicated resource via the creation of the Harbour Orders Team, improving online guidance to assist applicants, and streamlining internal processes, all of which have contributed to a significant decrease in the average application time from 29 months (2008-2011) to 12.5 months (2012-2018)

Going forward the MMO intends to make further improvements to the HO service by further enhancing online guidance and providing a named case officer for each HO application. However, it is difficult for the MMO to sustain the current level of service provided or pursue any further improvements to the HO service at the current level of cost recovery; especially as we face competing priorities and increasing pressure on resource and Government subsidy.

As a result, the MMO and DfT are now proposing to revisit HO fees, in-line with HM Treasury guidelines on Managing Public Money and to ensure that a greater proportion of the cost of a HO application is met by applicants.

To submit your response to the consultation you are invited to:

• complete the online questionnaire provided through Citizen Space a response through this means would be preferable as it allows for more efficient analysis of responses and a quicker government response to the consultation.

Or if this is not possible, you can also respond:

• by email to harbourorders@marinemanagement.org.uk (please mark the subject line as Harbour Orders Consultation)

• in writing to: Harbour Orders Team, Lancaster House, Newcastle Business Park, Newcastle, NE4 7YH

The eight-week consultation will close at midnight on 10th September 2019.

The application submitted by Norfolk Boreas Limited for a proposed Offshore Wind Farm (Power Station) – Maximum Capacity 1.8GW also associated infrastructure required to export the electricity to the National Grid substation at Necton in Norfolk. The proposed Norfolk Boreas site is approximately 73km from the Norfolk coast at its nearest point and was accepted by The Planning Inspectorate for examination on 4 July 2019.

Further information about the project can be found in the development consent application documents which are available on the The Planning Inspectorate website

The public and those interested in the proposal can register with the Planning Inspectorate until midnight on 1 September 2019.

Alternatively, they may call The Planning Inspectorate’s helpline: 0303 444 5000 for a printed registration form.

Sarah Richards, Chief Executive of The Planning Inspectorate said. “This is an opportunity for people to play a part in the planning process and influence the outcome. We encourage people to get involved by registering as an interested party. By doing so, people will be able to participate fully in the examination of this proposal”.

Those who register will be entitled to provide evidence in writing to support their representation, to attend the Preliminary Meeting, to request an open floor hearing and to speak at other hearings where appropriate.

A copy of the application together with further information about the proposal and how to register to make a relevant representation is available on The Planning Inspectorate website.

Journalists wanting further information should contact the Planning Inspectorate’s Press Office, on: 0303 444 5004 or 0303 444 5005 or email: press.office@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.

More information on this application, including details of the developer’s website, is available in National Infrastructure’s Programme of Projects. Visit: the Projects page.

Notes to editors:

• The Planning Inspectorate is an agency of the Ministry for Housing, communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and operates within the policy framework prescribed in the Planning Act 2008, secondary legislation and the National Policy Statements.

The process in a snapshot

There are six key stages within the process. The summary below provides examples of when and how people have an opportunity to provide evidence to the Planning Inspectorate.

Pre-application

Key activities:

• Project development / developer’s pre-application consultation and publicity.
• Environmental impact assessment preparation and scoping, where required.

Public involvement:

• Have their say on the proposal to the developer through their pre application consultation

Acceptance by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State

Key activities:

• The Secretary of State has 28 days from the day after receipt to decide whether or not an application should be accepted for examination

Public involvement:

• Details will be posted at the Planning Inspectorate’s website on how to register as an interested party – if an application has been accepted for examination and publicised by the developer.
• Opportunity to legally challenge a decision not to accept an application.

Pre-examination

Key activities:

• Single Inspector or a Panel of Inspectors appointed.
• Preliminary Meeting called and held.
• Procedure and timetable set for examination.

Public involvement:

• Register to say what you agree or disagree with in the application
• Submit your representation
• View application documents submitted by the developer on the Planning Inspectorate website
• Attend the Preliminary Meeting
• Say how the examination should be conducted.

Examination

Key activities:

• A maximum of six months to carry out the examination

Public involvement:

• Submit more detailed comments in writing
• Comment on what other people have said
• Request and attend an open-floor hearing
• If being held, request to speak at open-floor and / or issue specific hearing(s)
• Comment on the local authority’s Local Impact Report – detailing the impact of the scheme on the local area.

Decision

Key activities:

• A maximum of three months for Planning Inspectorate to issue a recommendation to the relevant Secretary of State, with a statement of reasons.

• The relevant Secretary of State then has a further three months from receiving the recommendation in which to issue the decision.

Post decision

Key activities:

• Six weeks for any legal challenge.

Public involvement: Opportunity to challenge.