Statutory Instruments
2025 No. 1171
NUCLEAR ENERGY
The Nuclear Installations (Prescribed Conditions and Excepted Matter) Regulations 2025
Made
6th November 2025
Laid before Parliament
11th November 2025
Coming into force
2nd December 2025
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 7C(1)(a)(iii) and 26(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965(1).
In accordance with article 4 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 1999(2), the Secretary of State has consulted the Scottish Ministers.
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Nuclear Installations (Prescribed Conditions and Excepted Matter) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 2nd December 2025.
(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Prescribed conditions
2.—(1) The conditions prescribed under section 7C(1)(a)(iii) of the Act are that, during the lifetime of the site—
(a)the effective dose from radiation released from the site to a member of the public off site would be no greater than 1 millisievert in any 12-month period in all reasonably foreseeable circumstances and assuming no protective or mitigating actions are taken (the dose condition);
(b)the risk of criticality occurring on the site is negligible (the criticality condition).
(2) In this regulation—
(a) “ Act ” means the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 ;
(b) “ effective dose ” has the meaning given by section 11H(11) of the Act( 3 );
(c) “ the lifetime of the site ” means the period during which the site is subject to an appropriate permit( 4 ).
Amendment to the Nuclear Installations (Excepted Matter) Regulations 2017
3.—(1) The Nuclear Installations (Excepted Matter) Regulations 2017(5) are amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 3 (excepted matter)—
(a)in paragraph (1), for “paragraph (2) or (3)” substitute “paragraph (2), (3) or (4)”;
(b)after paragraph (3) insert—
“(4) The requirement in this paragraph is that the nuclear matter has been disposed of in an installation for the disposal of nuclear matter on an excluded disposal site(6).”
Vallance
Minister of State
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
6th November 2025
1965 c. 57. Section 7C was inserted by section 304 of the Energy Act 2023 (c. 52). Section 26(1) was amended by section 32 of the Energy Act 1983 (c. 25), paragraphs 16 and 26 of Schedule 12 to the Energy Act 2013 (c. 32), sections 302(1) and (3) and 304(1) and (5) of the Energy Act 2023, S.I. 1999/2786 and 2016/562, and is prospectively amended by paragraph 8(1) and (2) of Schedule 22 to the Energy Act 2023. See the definition of “prescribed” in section 26(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.
S.I. 1999/1750, amended by paragraph 30 of Schedule 12 to the Energy Act 2013 and S.I. 2016/562. There are other amending instruments, but none is relevant.
Section 11H was inserted by S.I. 2016/562.
See the definition of “appropriate permit” in section 26(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (c. 57).
See the definitions of “excluded disposal site” and “nuclear matter” in section 26(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.