Safety

21 Assistance etc with performance of regulator’s safety functions

(1) The regulator may—

(a) require a qualifying health and safety authority to provide any specified advice or assistance, to the regulator or any other person, in connection with any functions relating to safety that are conferred on the regulator by or under this Act;

(b) authorise a qualifying health and safety authority to perform on behalf of the regulator any such functions that are specified.

(2) In this section—

• “qualifying health and safety authority” means—

  (a)

  the Health and Safety Executive or (as appropriate) the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland;

  (b)

  the Office for Nuclear Regulation;

  (c)

  a prescribed body or person whose functions consist of or include functions of a public nature relating to safety;

• “specified” means specified in the requirement under subsection (1)(a) or the authorisation under subsection (1)(b).

(3) A requirement imposed under subsection (1)(a) to provide advice or assistance in connection with any function may be expressed so as to operate as a continuing requirement on the qualifying health and safety authority to provide advice or assistance in connection with that function.

(4) Where under subsection (1)(a) the regulator—

(a) requires a qualifying health and safety authority to provide advice or assistance for a person other than the regulator, but

(b) does not undertake to pay the authority the cost of doing so,

the authority may refuse to do so until the other person pays to the authority any reasonable charges in respect of the advice or assistance that the authority determines.

(5) A qualifying health and safety authority is entitled to recover from the regulator a sum equal to any expense reasonably incurred by the authority—

(a) in providing the regulator with advice or assistance in response to a requirement imposed under subsection (1)(a), or

(b) in performing a function that the authority is authorised to perform under subsection (1)(b).

(6) Regulations may prescribe functions that the regulator may not authorise a qualifying health and safety authority to perform under subsection (1)(b).