... as UK agency cuts staff to prepare for privatization

Abstract

Plans by the British government to privatize AEA Technology, the science and engineering division of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), took the next step forward last week with the publication of the Atomic Energy Authority Bill. No decisions have been taken on the precise form that the privatization will take. "The bill deliberately leaves a number of options open so that we can make decisions nearer the time of sale," says Richard Page, the parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of Trade and Industry. In welcoming the bill, Sir Anthony Cleaver, the chief executive of AEA Technology said it will give the company freedom to expand its commercial activities. But the move is being disputed by labour unions representing UKAEA staff, because they say it will lead to further cuts in research and technical staff that have already dramatically reduced the scientific capabilities of what has been Britain's main nuclear research and development organization since 1954. Last year, the UKAEA, was formerly split into two as part of a long-promised privatization strategy. The UKAEA Government Division, will remain a government authority for nuclear facilities. The other, AEA