Sellafield Ltd will be given a £2bn annual budget for the next financial year as the site enters 'the most crucial period' in its modern history.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) secured the sum for the 2016/17 financial year as part of the Government’s Spending Review, announced in November last year.

The announcement was made in the NDA’s draft business plan, which was published last week, and marks an increase in Sellafield’s £1.9bn budget for the current financial year and underlines the NDA’s commitment to securing progress in the site’s clean-up programme.

However, Sellafield Ltd has made clear that further efficiency savings will be required in order to deliver the scope of work planned for 2016/17.

John Clarke, chief executive of the NDA, said: “This level of funding for Sellafield reflects tremendous support from Government and this will enable us to make vital progress on cleaning up the high hazard facilities at Sellafield, particularly the legacy ponds and silos. 

"But we have made an unequivocal commitment to Government that in return we will expect Sellafield Ltd to place the greatest possible emphasis on value for money.”

From April 1, the NDA will take ownership of Sellafield Ltd, as part of a raft of reforms aimed at bringing a more streamlined approach to the management of the site.

It is hoped that the new structure is designed to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and promote closer alignment between the NDA and Sellafield Ltd.

Paul Foster, Sellafield Ltd managing director, said: “We are pleased that NDA has been able to secure this level of funding for Sellafield Ltd.

“We must repay the trust shown in us by investing our budget in a way that delivers safe, secure and cost-effective progress on site as well as a return for the taxpayer and the greatest possible contribution to local economic growth.

“Although this represents increased funding for the site, the scope of work we need to deliver in 2016/17 will outstrip our budget unless we drive greater efficiency into everything we do.

“This means doing more for less and ensuring we are extracting the maximum value possible from the budget we are given.

“We are entering a crucial phase in the history of Sellafield as our mission changes from being an operational nuclear facility into a fully-fledged decommissioning site and we transition into a new management model as a subsidiary of the NDA.

“It is vital that Sellafield Ltd continues to change to ensure it is fit-for-purpose and able to rise to these challenges.”

A year of landmark progress is expected at Sellafield in 2016/17, particularly in the highest priority legacy ponds and silos clean-up programmes.

All remaining fuel in the Pile Fuel Storage Pond is expected to be cleared during the year and bulk retrievals of sludge and fuel are scheduled to begin from the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond.