SCHEDULE 3 Construction products enforcement rules – Northern Ireland

PART 2 REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS

CHAPTER 3 Prohibition notices and notices to warn

Notices to warn: further provision
14. (1) Where a person on whom a notification containing a draft of a proposed notice to warn has been served—
(a) informs the Secretary of State as mentioned in paragraph 13(3)(e) before the end of the period of fourteen days beginning with the day on which the notification was served; and
(b) makes written representations to the Secretary of State about the proposed notice before the end of the period of twenty-eight days beginning with that day,
the Secretary of State must appoint a person to consider those representations, any further representations made by that person about the draft notice and the statements of any witnesses examined under this paragraph.
(2) Where—
(a) the Secretary of State has appointed a person to consider representations about a notice to warn; and
(b) the person whose representations are to be considered has informed the Secretary of State for the purposes of paragraph 13(3)(e) that the representations the person intends to make will include oral representations,
the Secretary of State must inform the person intending to make the representations of the place and time at which oral representations may be made to the appointed person.
(3) Where a person on whom a notification containing a draft of a proposed notice to warn has been served is informed of a time for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2), that time must not be—
(a) before the end of the period of twenty-eight days beginning with the day on which the notification was served; or
(b) before the end of the period of seven days beginning with the day on which that person is informed of the time.
(4) A person who has been informed of a place and time for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) or the person’s representative may, at that place and time—
(a) make oral representations to the appointed person for the purpose of establishing that the matters stated in accordance with paragraph 13(3)(c) are not the case; and
(b) call and examine witnesses in connection with the representations.
(5) Where a person is appointed to consider representations about a proposed notice to warn, it shall be the duty of that person to consider—
(a) any written representations made by the person on whom it is proposed to serve the notice; and
(b) in a case where a place and time has been appointed under sub-paragraph (2) for oral representations to be made by that person or that person’s representative, any representations so made and any statements made by witnesses in connection with those representations,
and, after considering those matters, to make a report (including recommendations) to the Secretary of State about the matters so considered and the proposal to serve the notice.
(6) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to consider any report made under sub-paragraph (5) and, after considering the report, to inform the person on whom it was proposed that a notice to warn should be served of its decision with respect to the proposal.
(7) If at any time after serving a notification on a person under paragraph 13(3) the Secretary of State decides not to serve on that person either the proposed notice to warn or that notice with modifications, the Secretary of State must inform that person of the decision; and nothing done for the purposes of paragraphs 13(3) and (4) and this paragraph before that person was so informed shall—
(a) entitle the Secretary of State subsequently to serve the proposed notice or that notice with modifications; or
(b) require the Secretary of State, or any person appointed to consider representations about the proposed notice, subsequently to do anything in respect of, or in consequence of, any such representations.
(8) Where a notification containing a draft of a proposed notice to warn is served on a person in respect of any products, a notice to warn served on that person in consequence of a decision made under sub-paragraph (6) must either be in the form of the draft or must be less onerous than the draft.
(9) This paragraph and paragraph 13 are without prejudice to the operation of—
(a) Article 21(4) (restrictive measures: withdrawal of measures after effective action) of the RAMS Regulation in the case of a notice to warn based on the ground in paragraph 16(6)(a);
(b) Article 57(2), second sentence (Union safeguard procedure: national measure considered unjustified) of the EU Construction Products Regulation in the case of a notice to warn based on the ground in paragraph 16(6)(b); and
(c) Article 58(4) (complying construction products which nevertheless present a risk to health and safety: evaluation of national measures by the Commission) of the EU Construction Products Regulation in the case of a notice to warn based on the ground in paragraph 16(6)(c).
(10) Where, in a notification served on any person under paragraph 13(3), the Secretary of State has appointed a time for the making of oral representations or the examination of witnesses, it may, by giving that person such notification as the Secretary of State considers appropriate, change the time to a later time or appoint further times at which further representations may be made or the examination of witnesses may be continued; and sub-paragraph (4) shall have effect accordingly.
(11) For the purposes of this paragraph the Secretary of State may appoint a person (instead of the appointed person) to consider any representations or statements, if the person originally appointed, or last appointed under this sub-paragraph, to consider those representations or statements has died or appears to the Secretary of State to be otherwise unable to act.
(12) In this paragraph—
“the appointed person”, in relation to a proposal to serve a notice to warn, means the person for the time being appointed under this paragraph to consider representations about the proposed notice; and
“notification” means notification in writing.

Sch. 3 para. 14 in force at 31.12.2020 immediately before the 2019 Regulations come into force, see reg. 1