§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made in replacing the Certificate of Fitness regime for offshore safety with verification schemes; and what requirement there is in such schemes for physical testing of materials used. [15957]
§ Angela EagleThe legal requirement for offshore installations to have a Certificate of Fitness was replaced by legislation which came into effect on 30 June 1996. There are transitional provisions which allow the continued use of the Certificate of Fitness arrangements under certain circumstances until 30 June 1998; by that date every offshore installation operating on the UK Continental Shelf must be covered by a verification scheme. This involves scrutiny by an independent and competent person of the suitability of all safety-critical elements on the installation. Physical testing of materials is not specified in the legislation, but where the materials contribute to the suitability of a safety-critical element they would be expected to be subject to verification by appropriate means.