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Standards & Technical
Regulations work
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Aims |
is covered by three of the DTI's aims
Increase the capacity of business, especially SMEs, to grow and
to improve their productivity, through innovation, adoption of
best practice, and investment
Improve and enforce the regulatory framework for commercial activity,
while removing unnecessary burdens on business
Improve the openness, efficiency and effectiveness of markets
at home, in Europe and across the world
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Roles |
To achieve these aims , STRD fulfils
a number of roles:-
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- managing the interface
between UK Government and the British Standards Institution (BSI)
- STRD provides direct financial
support for BSI Standards, and also support towards both industry
experts' and consumers' participation in standards writing. It
influences the production of standards to meet business needs
through membership of the BSI Standards Board. It also co-ordinates
the interests of different government departments via a Standards
Policy Committee and develops the Government's policy on standards
- discharging its general
responsibility for the removal of barriers to trade by acting
as the UK central contact point for the EC notification system
for the provision of information on technical regulations.
- coordinating the UK's input
to the EC agreements with 3rd countries on third-party testing
and certification.
- STRD also co-ordinates UK
views and provides advice to colleagues in Government and business
on horizontal issues relating to product directives and standards.
Consultation is carried out through the Standards Policy Committee,
a CBI Standards Forum and a National Conformity Assessment Forum
at BSI.
- supporting the conformity
assessment infrastructure including sponsorship of the United
Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
- STRD plays an active part
in relevant BSI committees in the field of quality and conformity
assessment, and works with the European Commission, and other
Member States and UKAS to secure internationally recognised confidence
in UK providers of testing, certification and inspection services.
It plays a part in stimulating continuous improvement in the
quality of UK companies through the promotion of ISO 9000 and
product certification as part of an overall business excellence
model.
- responsibility for specific
technical regulations in the electrical, gas, mechanical and
process engineering sectors; and also
- responsibility for consumer
safety in electrical and gas appliances and eleven New Approach
directives.
- Negotiation of most of these
has been completed, but work continues on the introduction of
UK implementing regulations, and the administration of those
regulations. STRD appoints and monitors organisations notified
to the Commission for the provision of certification, testing
and inspection services required under the directives.
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Guidance |
- Information is provided through
a series of Product Standards
booklets. STRD consults
industry through trade associations to identify difficulties
of interpretation, and seeks solutions to problems through liaison
with the Commission and Member States.
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