The Guardian has today published a story which makes reference to secondments from industry and other agencies to the Office for Nuclear Regulation. For clarity, we explained to the journalist who asked for the information:
The full cost of the secondments is charged in full to the nuclear industry.
We have safeguards in place to ensure there is no conflict of interest; no secondee works on matters directly related to their parent organisation.
We see significant benefit in educating people who have responsibility for nuclear safety (ie. licensees) about the regulator's work and principles. We hope they'll share that with colleagues at the end of the secondment and therefore assist in placing safety and security at the heart of everything they do.
[The Guardian later amended the online story and explained why here.]