Article 43 Requirements for approved bodiesF13

F1An approved body shall meet the requirements set out in paragraphs 2 to 11.

An approved body must have legal personality and must be established in—

F3An approved body shall be a third-party body independent from the organisation or the construction product 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 construction products which it assesses, can on condition that its independence and the absence of any conflict of interest are demonstrated, be considered to be such a body.

An approved body, its top-level management and the personnel responsible for carrying out the third party tasks in the process of assessment and verification of constancy of performance shall not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer, purchaser, owner, user or maintainer of the construction products which it assesses, nor the authorised representative of any of those parties. This shall not preclude the use of assessed products that are necessary for the operations of the F4approved body or the use of products for personal purposes.

An approved body, its top-level management and the personnel responsible for carrying out the third party tasks in the process of assessment and verification of constancy of performance shall not become directly involved in the design, manufacture or construction, marketing, installation, use or maintenance of those construction products, nor represent the parties engaged in those activities. They shall not engage in any activity that may conflict with their independence of judgement and integrity related to the activities for which they have been approved. This shall, in particular, apply to consultancy services.

An approved body shall ensure that activities of its subsidiaries or subcontractors do not affect the confidentiality, objectivity and impartiality of its assessment and/or verification activities.

An approved body and its personnel shall carry out the third party tasks in the process of assessment and verification of constancy of performance with the highest degree of professional integrity and requisite technical competence in the specific field and must be free from all pressures and inducements, particularly financial, which might influence their judgement or the results of their assessment and/or verification activities, especially from persons or groups of persons with an interest in the results of those activities.

An approved body shall be capable of carrying out all the third party tasks in the process of assessment and verification of constancy of performance assigned to it in accordance with Annex V in relation to which it has been approved, whether those tasks are carried out by the approved body itself or on its behalf and under its responsibility.

At all times and for each system of assessment and verification of constancy of performance and for each kind or category of construction products, essential characteristics and tasks in relation to which it has been approved, the approved body shall have the following at its disposal:

An approved body shall have the means necessary to perform the technical and administrative tasks connected with the activities for which it is approved in an appropriate manner and shall have access to all necessary equipment or facilities.

The personnel responsible for carrying out the activities in relation to which the body has been F5approved, shall have the following:

The impartiality of the F7approved body, its top-level management and assessment personnel shall be guaranteed.

The remuneration of the approved body’s top-level management and assessment personnel shall not depend on the number of assessments carried out or on the results of such assessments.

An approved body must have adequate liability insurance in respect of its activities.

The personnel of the F9approved body shall be bound to observe professional secrecy with regard to all information gained in carrying out its tasks under Annex V, except in relation to F10a competent authority, the UK national accreditation body or any other body to which the Secretary of State delegates or otherwise entrusts the monitoring of the approved body. Proprietary rights shall be protected.

F11An approved body shall participate in, or ensure that its assessment personnel is informed of, the relevant standardisation activities and the activities of the F12approved body coordination group established under this Regulation and shall apply as general guidance the administrative decisions and documents produced as a work result of that group.