The IAEA document entitled Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power (IAEA, no. NG-G-3.1) sets out a frame­work of milestones in the development of a national nuclear infrastructure. The three core milestones are: (1) ready to make a knowledgeable commit­ment to a nuclear programme; (2) ready to invite bids for the first nuclear power plant; and (3) ready to commission and operate the first nuclear power plant. The first of these milestones is of paramount importance whether a State is deciding to embark on its first nuclear power plant or, as in the UK, deciding to commission a new fleet of nuclear power plants. If there is no desire on the part of the legislature or national authorities in a given State, installations will not generate enough interest to survive to the planning stages of a development. In the UK, after many years of indeci­sion, milestone 1 was achieved when government energy policy, enshrined in legislative White Papers, made an express commitment to a new genera­tion of nuclear plants.