Category: 3. Business

• Memorandum of Understanding agreed to enable and encourage knowledge sharing, and improve best practice
• NDA’s extensive experience will support the decommissioning of UKAEA’s Joint European Torus (JET) with the development and implementation of safe, compliant, and efficient waste strategies, and with planning for decommissioning JET’s auxiliary buildings at Culham Campus
• Solutions that are developed for UKAEA’s unique challenges related to JET may have potential to be applied at NDA sites

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) have signed a formal agreement to share their knowledge and expertise, advancing the delivery of major decommissioning programmes.

The NDA is responsible for decommissioning the UK’s 17 earliest nuclear sites – one of the largest and most complex nuclear decommissioning and remediation programmes in Europe.

UKAEA’s decommissioning of the Joint European Torus (JET) will contribute invaluable insights to the development of future commercial fusion power plants and the planning of their whole lifecycle.

By embedding learnings from the NDA, the JET Decommissioning and Repurposing (JDR) team will be able to fast-track efficiencies and best practice into its planning and delivery processes.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalises a working relationship between the two organisations which has existed for several years and reflects the number of shared challenges faced across the fusion and nuclear sectors.

Both UKAEA and NDA collaborate as partners through RAICo (the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration) and, ahead of the transition from plasma operations into shutdown, the JDR team sought advice from their NDA counterparts in areas such as waste disposal routes, processing facilities, and regulations.

Meanwhile, technologies and techniques which are developed for JET’s unique circumstances may be adaptable for use in relevant parts of the NDA estate.

Zac Scott, Director of JET Decommissioning and Repurposing Programme at UKAEA:

“JDR is a world-leading programme in the fusion sector, but many of the issues we are facing are common in decommissioning. It is therefore important for the team at UKAEA to learn as we move into the next few years of delivery.

“Over the last year we have visited a number of NDA sites and met the teams delivering decommissioning across the country. Formalising our relationship with the NDA will help us to leverage their extensive knowledge and experience, along with research and development capabilities.

“At the same time, we will be able to share the lessons and solutions we have engineered for our own challenges which could be applied in the NDA estate. We certainly believe that this is a beneficial agreement for all stakeholders.”

Clive Nixon, NDA Group Chief Nuclear Strategy Officer:

“The NDA group are at the forefront of nuclear decommissioning, we have one of the most experienced and skilled nuclear workforces in the world, developing pioneering solutions which have applications across the nuclear sector and beyond.

“The environment we work in is uniquely complex, so collaborating with UKAEA is extremely beneficial in terms of sharing expertise and knowledge to overcome some of the shared challenges we face.   

“This agreement will enable us to build on the positive work we’ve done together to date to realise additional benefits including increased efficiencies for the taxpayer and accelerating delivery of our mission.”

The UAE has introduced coordinated amendments focusing on the legislative changes covering the corporate tax, value added tax (VAT), and the Commercial companies law.  

These amendments are aimed to simplify operations, modernise the business environment and strengthen the country’s business friendly framework, aligning companies and providing them a clear guidance on taxation.  

Corporate tax amendments 

The corporate tax amendments clarify a detailed guidance on calculating and settling tax liabilities when credits, incentives, or reliefs apply.  

Liabilities will be settled in a specific order: first, withholding tax credits; then, foreign tax credits; followed by any other Cabinet approved incentives or reliefs.

The amendments are a part of a broader 2025 corporate tax overhaul that also brings the regime in line with OECD Pillar.  

Taxpayers are also allowed to claim payments for unused tax credits, provided they adhere to specified timelines and procedures.  

VAT law

On the VAT side, Federal Decree Law No. 16 of 2025, effective from January 1, 2026, simplifies tax procedures maintaining and getting in compliance with global standards.  

Among other measures, the reforms simplify procedures by removing the requirement for self-invoicing under the reverse charge mechanism (where supporting documentation exists) and introduce a five‑year time limit for recovering excess refundable VAT.​

These measures remove previous uncertainties and ensure consistent and transparent application of the corporate tax framework, which applies a standard 9 percent rate to companies with profits above Dh375,000 ($102,110), while profits below this threshold remain tax free.

Businesses will no longer need to issue self-invoices under the reverse charge mechanism if supporting documentation is kept.

Companies law

The amendment expands flexibility and competitiveness in the corporate structures. The law introduces the non-profit company, allowing organizations to reinvest net profits to achieve their objectives without distributing profits to shareholders.

It helps the users to solve complex problems, including the rights of voting , redemption, as outlined in a company’s articles of incorporation or bylaws.  

Beverley Warmington has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to continue work to tackle the driving test backlog and lead the delivery of test booking reforms to cut waiting times.

As an experienced operational leader, Beverley brings almost 2 decades of public service expertise to the role. This includes an outstanding record in transforming large-scale service delivery operations – most recently as Area Director for London, Essex and Eastern England at the Department for Work and Pensions, where she managed over 12,000 staff delivering services across multiple sites.

Beverley will join DVSA at a critical juncture, with work underway to reduce driving test waiting times that are preventing learners from accessing jobs and opportunities.

Minister for Roads and Buses, Simon Lightwood, said: 

Driving is more than just a means of transport; it is a lifeline for many, opening doors to jobs, opportunities and ultimately contributing to the growth of our economy.

Beverley Warmington brings a wealth of operational leadership experience with her, including successfully managing large workforces and transforming service delivery.

I have every confidence she will grip the driving test backlog and robustly oversee the reforms needed to ensure learners can get on the road when they are truly ready and safe to do so.

DVSA Chair, Nick Bitel, said:

I’m delighted to welcome Beverley to DVSA as she takes up the role of Chief Executive in January.

Her operational and transformational experience will be a huge asset across DVSA’s driver, vehicle and enforcement services, especially as we continue our urgent work to help learners by reducing driving test waiting times.

Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport, Jo Shanmugalingam, said: 

As the Secretary of State said at the recent Transport Select Committee we would like to thank Loveday Ryder for her 5 years leading DVSA, particularly through the COVID period. We wish her the best for the future.

Beverley will join DVSA on 5 January 2026. She will take over from Loveday Ryder who led DVSA since January 2021. 

She will lead DVSA as it continues to implement the government’s 7-point plan to reduce driving test waiting times, announced in December 2024.

Changes the government has implemented include bringing in military driving examiners to help conduct driving tests one day a week for 12 months, delivering up to 6,500 more tests at the driving test centres with the highest demand near their MOD base or home location.

Additionally, only learner drivers will be able to book their own tests and not instructors on their behalf and learner drivers will only be able to make up to 2 changes to the driving test in total – including moves, swaps and location changes – before it must be cancelled and rebooked.

Learner drivers will also be restricted to a limited number of test centres, which are located close to the original booking.

In addition, almost 75,000 more tests have been carried out between June and November 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, as a result of overtime pay incentives for examiners.

​​​​​​​Use this form to provide a submission for this consultation process. Attach your submission as a PDF using the form below.

The submission portal closes at
​ Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at 5 PM AEDT.

Note: Unless you request otherwise, we will make all submissions public at the end of the consultation period.​

If you need any help submitting this form, contact
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