The effect of the Act was to put the finances of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) on a trading fund basis, such that what the Authority charged its customers included an element of profit.

[2] This established that about half of the UKAEA's annual expenditure of £400 million was grant-in-aid from the Department of Energy.

The review recommended that the Authority should be operated on a fully commercial basis and that more work should be funded by the nuclear industry.

The Act made the net assets of the Authority a debt due to the Secretary of State.

[2] The act comprised ten sections in three parts:[1] The authority's finances 1.