§ Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbottsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why in the Electricity (Approval of Pattern on Construction and Installation and Certification) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2139) the sum charged by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority for meter examiners is under £45 an hour while that for inspectors is £110 an hour. [HL2766]
§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville:The Statutory Instrument S.I. 2002/3129 makes provision for the amendment to the Meters (Certification) Regulations 1998 and the Meters (Approval of Pattern or Construction and Manner of Installation) Regulations 1998. These regulations were amended, in part, to facilitate the outsourcing of Ofgem's operational meter testing and examination services to a private contractor.
For the examination, testing and certification of meters, the £45 hourly rate does not necessarily represent the entirety of the fee that may be incurred. The Meters (Certification) Regulation 1998 provides that the fee payable to the authority for examination testing and certification of meters by a meter examiner (who is a member of the authority's staff) or by a meter examiner instructed by the authority (but not a member of the authority's staff) can include £45 per hour for time spent examining or testing or procuring the testing of a meter; any reasonable expenses (including incidental expenses) in accordance with the provisions of the SI; a sum equal to the costs incurred
64WA
Correspondence from MPs/Peers to Ministers and Agency Chief Executives1 2001 2002 Department or Agency Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters received %of replies within target Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters received %of replies within target Cabinet Office2 15 599 90 15 475 73 Leader of the House of Lords 15 53 80 15 155 96 Crown Prosecution Service3 15 97 94 15 366 85 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 18 4,416 90 18 4,767 83 HM Customs and Excise34 18 2,452 62 18 1,616 59 Ministry of Defence4 15 5,350 85 15 5,381 83 Armed Forces Personnel — — — 15 18 100 Administration Agency Defence Aviation Repair Agency — — — 10 14 100 Met Office 15 20 80 15 14 100 Veterans Agency 20 279 99 15 265 99 Department for Education and Skills4 15 18,237 76 15 15,595 84 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs5 15 9,905 34 15 11,241 47 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 20 10,275 79 20 15,535 83 UK Visas 15 8,276 78 15 10,322 98 Department of Health6 20 19,665 60 20 17,942 29 NHS Pensions Agency 15 65 98 15 65 95 Medicines Control Agency 10 17 82 15 36 89 by the authority (other than the cost of employing the meter examiner, referred to above) attributable to procuring from any person the provision of premises, equipment, or personnel (including a meter examiner) for the purpose of examining or carrying out any test on the meter.
The fee is intended to cover the administrative costs of an Ofgem meter examiner.