The Working Group on Policy and Licensing (WGPL) is responsible for supporting and advising the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) in carrying out its programme of work in areas related to regulatory activities, policymaking and licensing methods.

Scope

The WGPL provides a mechanism for nuclear safety regulators and technical support organisations (TSOs) to share their experiences in making policy and licensing decisions. 

Focusing on issues related to policy and licensing for both operating nuclear reactors and proposed new reactors (including those under construction) in NEA member and partner countries, the WGPL aims to facilitate an active and timely exchange of commendable practices, as well as lessons learnt to help regulators perform their policy and licensing functions more effectively and efficiently. 

Objectives

The WGPL will collect and analyse information so that it can develop and disseminate:

• state of the art tools and methods to enhance regulatory effectiveness and efficiency to meet changing operating and societal environments;
• methods that encourage consistency among regulatory practices of NEA member countries and partners;
• recommendations for regulatory positions on globally significant policy issues affecting the safety of nuclear reactors and/or the effectiveness and efficiency of regulatory activities;
• methods to help regulatory bodies make policy decisions based on scientific knowledge and supported by the best available technical information; and
• improved licensing frameworks to facilitate timely and robust licensing decisions.