The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's current funding model is "unsustainable," according to a report published Monday by a cross-party committee of members of parliament.

"Public funding for the NDA will almost certainly have to increase significantly in the coming years over and above current plans," the House of Commons Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee said.  The committee scrutinizes the work of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.  BERR already spends over 40% of its departmental expenditure limit on the NDA, according to the report, but this seems not to be enough.

The MPs say that they are skeptical about how "watertight" the funding for the NDA is given the "volatile and declining" nature of its commercial income.  "Nuclear decommissioning is too important to be left to the mercy of changing priorities in the Treasury and uncertain commercial income... a new system of funding is needed, and work on this needs to begin urgently," the MPs said.

The NDA is funded by a combination of commercial income and grant-in-aid.  For 2007/08 its budget is set at GBP2.79 billion. Of this, GBP1.42 billion was intended to be ring-fenced grant-in-aid and GBP1.37 billion commercial income, chiefly from reprocessing but also including income from waste substitution.