Britain’s main nuclear safety regulator is struggling to halt a staff exodus that threatens to delay construction of a new generation of nuclear power stations.

A brain drain of senior inspectors and engineers has left the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) so seriously understaffed that only 16 people are overseeing a highly complex approval process for new nuclear reactors that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says requires at least 40 people.

The Times has learnt that the Government is so concerned about the situation in the NII that it is considering radical changes, including inflation-breaching pay increases, moving the agency from its base in Bootle, Merseyside, and introducing a new corporate governance structure. “They are trying to stop the brain drain,” one nuclear industry executive said.

He pointed out that skilled nuclear engineers are already a rarity in the UK and the nuclear industry’s renaissance is compounding the NII’s problem by triggering departures of staff to private sector companies.

“People with good UK regulatory knowledge are getting poached left, right and centre,” he said. “There’s a real risk of serious delays, which could jeopardise the whole programme.”

A spokesman for the HSE acknowledged that a lack of resources was “undeniably an issue” in the NII and that there was a risk that it would lead to delays in the new-build programme.

Faced with a yawning gap in Britain’s power-generating capacity as old plants are retired, the Government wants the first new nuclear plant to be operational by 2017 or 2018. With basic questions such as the ownership of British Energy, the nuclear power producer, still unresolved, many experts believe that this is a highly ambitious timetable.

The NII, part of the HSE, employs 159 inspectors, responsible for ensuring safety at all of Britain’s nuclear power stations. The HSE admits that it needs many more and the NII is seeking dozens of staff.

It needs more than 30 simply to complete its work programme of preparation for the new nuclear building programme.

Since the Government’s decision in January to give a green light to new plants, the NII has also been given the complex task of assessing and approving reactor designs and sites – a key role involving highly detailed engineering reports and safety studies.

However, an acute shortage of skilled nuclear engineers and low pay and morale in the NII have left it facing a widening skills gap.

The reform of the NII is being led by Tim Stone, a partner in KPMG, who is advising the Government on a range of nuclear issues. He is understood to be drawing up an action plan to strengthen the organisation.

Dr Stone’s proposals include ending public sector pay constraints, drafting in senior managers and creating an advisory board to boost efficiency. A chief operating officer may also be appointed.

The recommendations will be considered by John Hutton, the Business Secretary, in the autumn in consultation with the HSE.

A lack of skills is viewed as one of the biggest challenges facing Britain’s nuclear industry. Only one nuclear power station, Sizewell B, has been built in Britain since the 1970s. Many universities closed their nuclear engineering departments decades ago on cost grounds and because there was so little interest in the speciality.

Although the Treasury has awarded only limited extra funding for the NII, the agency’s problems are viewed within government as a key concern.

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