ANNEX
Letter from the Clerk of the Committee to the Senior
Executive Officer, LACOTS
Quality Systems
We note that you raised a number of concerns in your response
to the consultation exercise relating to the specified quality
system requirements for applicants to become self-verifiers. You
draw attention to a number of ways in which the involvement of
local authority inspectors in the approval of quality systems
should be more tightly specified in the proposed Order. In addition
you note that the application of the proposed quality systems
is limited to "end product inspection and test" and
that there is no formal link with the production process.
The Department states that the standards required for quality
systems will be the same for applicants both within and outside
Great Britain. The Committee would like to know whether you are
satisfied that the specified standards will be the same.
Implications for Local Government
We also note that all three elements of the proposed Order were
expected to have financial implications for local authorities.
The Department reports that it held talks with ITSA and LACOTS
on this point, and that agreement was reached to transfer funds
from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Department of
the Environment, Transport and the Regions to offset losses in
income from inspections and some added administrative costs.
We would like to know what impact you believe the proposed Order
would have on local government inspection bodies.
12 June 1998
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