§ Mr. Mark FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department is doing to support the Government's policy on accreditation. [88090]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is recognised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry as the sole national body for the accreditation, against international standards, of certification and inspection bodies, testing and calibration laboratories. My Department uses UKAS accreditation services whenever it is appropriate to do so.
Examples include our ISO 14001 environmental management systems and the certification work undertaken by the Vehicle Certification Agency in the motor trade industry and proposed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the shipping industry. The Highways Agency also continues to work closely with UKAS to help establish benchmark standards within the industry for certification purposes.