The study will be carried out by the Cabinet Office's Performance and Innovation Unit that reports to Blair. It will be chaired by Brian Wilson, the energy minister.
The government's election manifesto in 2001 took a more positive view on nuclear power than in 1997. Previously, it had said that there was "no case for new reactors." This time, however, it said that it wanted: "a secure, diverse and sustainable supply of energy at competitive prices," and that coal and nuclear power "currently play important roles in ensuring diversity in our sources of electricity generation."