1. The body, its director and staff involved in conformity assessment tasks shall not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer or user of the meter measuring system that they inspect, nor the authorised representative of any of them. In addition, they may not be directly involved in the design, manufacture, marketing or maintenance of the instrument, nor represent the parties engaged in these activities. The preceding criterion does not, however, preclude in any way the possibility of exchanges of technical information between the manufacturer and the body for the purposes of conformity assessment.U.K.
2. The body, its director and staff involved in conformity assessment tasks shall be free from all pressures and inducements, in particular financial inducements, that might influence their judgement or the results of their conformity assessment, especially from persons or groups of persons with an interest in the results of the assessments.U.K.
3. The conformity assessment shall be carried out with the highest degree of professional integrity and requisite competence in the field of metrology. Should the body sub-contract specific tasks, it shall first ensure that the sub-contractor meets the requirements of these Regulations, and in particular of this Schedule. The body shall keep the relevant documents assessing the sub-contractor's qualifications and the work carried out by him under these Regulations at the disposal of the Secretary of State.U.K.
4. The body shall be capable of carrying out all the conformity assessment tasks for which it has been designated, whether those tasks are carried out by the body itself or on its behalf and under its responsibility. It shall have at its disposal the necessary staff and shall have access to the necessary facilities for carrying out in a proper manner the technical and administrative tasks entailed in conformity assessment.U.K.
5. The body's staff shall have—U.K.
(a)sound technical and vocational training, covering all conformity assessment tasks for which the body was designated;
(b)satisfactory knowledge of the rules governing the tasks which it carries out, and adequate experience of such tasks; and
(c)the requisite ability to draw up the certificates, records and reports demonstrating that the tasks have been carried out.
6. The impartiality of the body, its director and staff shall be guaranteed. The remuneration of the body shall not depend on the results of the tasks it carries out. The remuneration of the body's director and staff shall not depend on the number of tasks carried out or on the results of such tasks.U.K.
7. The body shall satisfy the Secretary of State that it has adequate civil liability insurance.U.K.
8. The body's director and staff shall be bound to observe professional secrecy with regard to all information obtained in the performance of their duties pursuant to these Regulations, except vis-à-vis the Secretary of State.U.K.