The Secretary of State may approve bodies to carry out third-party conformity assessment tasks under this Regulation.

The register referred to in paragraph 2 must be made publicly available.

For the purposes of F4approval, a conformity assessment body shall meet the requirements laid down in F5paragraphs 3 to 10.

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A conformity assessment body shall be a third-party body independent of the organisation or the subsystem or the safety component it assesses.

A body belonging to a business association or professional federation representing undertakings involved in the design, manufacturing, provision, assembly, use or maintenance of subsystems or safety components which it assesses, may, on the condition that its independence and the absence of any conflict of interest are demonstrated, be considered such a body.

A conformity assessment body, its top-level management and the personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer, purchaser, owner, user or maintainer of the subsystems or the safety components which they assess, nor the representative of any of those parties. This shall not preclude the use of assessed subsystems or safety components that are necessary for the operations of the conformity assessment body or the use of such subsystems or safety components for personal purposes.

A conformity assessment body, its top-level management and the personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall not be directly involved in the design, manufacture or construction, marketing, installation, use or maintenance of those subsystems or safety components, or represent the parties engaged in those activities. They shall not engage in any activity that may conflict with their independence of judgement or integrity in relation to conformity assessment activities for which they are notified. This shall in particular apply to consultancy services.

Conformity assessment bodies shall ensure that the activities of their subsidiaries or subcontractors do not affect the confidentiality, objectivity or impartiality of their conformity assessment activities.

Conformity assessment bodies and their personnel shall carry out the conformity assessment activities with the highest degree of professional integrity and the requisite technical competence in the specific field and shall be free from all pressures and inducements, particularly financial, which might influence their judgement or the results of their conformity assessment activities, especially as regards persons or groups of persons with an interest in the results of those activities.

The impartiality of the conformity assessment bodies, their top-level management and of the personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall be guaranteed.

The remuneration of the top-level management and of the personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks of a conformity assessment body shall not depend on the number of assessments carried out, nor on the results of those assessments.

Conformity assessment bodies shall take out liability insurance F8....

The personnel of a conformity assessment body shall observe professional secrecy with regard to all information obtained in carrying out their tasks under Annexes III to VII F9..., except in relation to the F10Secretary of State or the Executive. Proprietary rights shall be protected.

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Where a conformity assessment body demonstrates its conformity with the criteria laid down in the relevant harmonised standards or parts thereof, the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it shall be presumed to comply with the requirements set out in Article 26 in so far as the applicable harmonised standards cover those requirements.

In paragraph 1, expressions used are to be given the same meaning as in the EU Regulation.

Where F15an approved body subcontracts specific tasks connected with conformity assessment or has recourse to a subsidiary, it shall ensure that the subcontractor or the subsidiary meets the requirements set out in Article 26 and shall inform the F16Secretary of State accordingly.

F17Approved bodies shall take full responsibility for the tasks performed by subcontractors or subsidiaries wherever these are established.

Activities may be subcontracted or carried out by a subsidiary only with the agreement of the client.

F18Approved bodies shall keep at the disposal of the F19Secretary of State the relevant documents concerning the assessment of the qualifications of the subcontractor or the subsidiary and the work carried out by them under Annexes III to VII.

A conformity assessment body shall submit an application for F21approval to the F22Secretary of State.

The application for notification shall be accompanied by a description of the conformity assessment activities, the conformity assessment module or modules and the subsystem/safety component or subsystems/safety components for which that body claims to be competent, as well as by an accreditation certificate, where one exists, issued by F23the United Kingdom Accreditation Service attesting that the conformity assessment body fulfils the requirements laid down in Article 26.

Where the conformity assessment body concerned cannot provide an accreditation certificate, it shall provide the notifying authority with all the documentary evidence necessary for the verification, recognition and regular monitoring of its compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 26.

Where F27the Secretary of State has ascertained or has been informed that F28an approved body no longer meets the requirements laid down in Article 26 or that it is failing to fulfil its obligations, F29the Secretary of State shall restrict, suspend or withdraw the F30approval, as appropriate, depending on the seriousness of the failure to meet those requirements or fulfil those obligations. F31...

In the event of restriction, suspension or withdrawal of notification, or where F32the approved body has ceased its activity, the F33Secretary of State shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the files of that body are either processed by F34another approved body or kept available for the F35Secretary of State and the Executive at their request.

F38Approved bodies shall carry out conformity assessments in accordance with the conformity assessment procedures provided for in Annexes III to VII.

Conformity assessments shall be carried out in a proportionate manner, avoiding unnecessary burdens for economic operators.

Conformity assessment bodies shall perform their activities taking due account of the size of an undertaking, the sector in which it operates, its structure, the degree of complexity of the subsystem or safety component technology in question and the mass or serial nature of the production process.

In so doing, they shall nevertheless respect the degree of rigour and the level of protection required for the compliance of the subsystem or the safety component with this Regulation.

Where F39an approved body finds that the essential requirements set out in Annex II or F40corresponding designated standards or other technical specifications have not been met by a manufacturer, it shall require that manufacturer to take appropriate corrective measures and shall not issue a certificate or approval decision.

Where, in the course of the monitoring of conformity following the issue of a certificate or approval decision, F41an approved body finds that a subsystem or a safety component no longer complies, it shall require the manufacturer to take appropriate corrective measures and shall suspend or withdraw the certificate or the approval decision if necessary.

Where corrective measures are not taken or do not have the required effect, F42the approved body shall restrict, suspend or withdraw any certificates or approval decisions, as appropriate.

F51Approved bodies shall provide the other bodies F52approved under this Regulation carrying out similar conformity assessment activities covering the same subsystems or safety components with relevant information on issues relating to negative and, on request, positive conformity assessment results.