Part 5: Other provisions about safety standards, etc. Construction products Section 153: Cost contribution orders made by courts Proposed use of power
This power will be used to make regulations to enable the Secretary of State to apply to a court for a costs contribution order to be made against an economic operator where the relevant conditions have been met, to require them to pay an amount in relation to the cost of remediation works. Regulations will set out the matters that the court will need to consider when deciding whether to make a costs contribution order and, where applicable, the amount that an economic operator should be required to pay, and to whom. Regulations will also enable the court to order an economic operator to pay to the Secretary of State the cost of any assessments undertaken as part of this process and making the application to court.
Example
A manufacturer is successfully prosecuted for non-compliance with construction products regulations, following an investigation by the regulator which found that the fire doors that they manufacture do not have the resistance to fire claimed in their marketing material.
The Secretary of State appoints assessors to undertake an assessment of residential buildings where the product has been used. The assessment finds that dwellings have been made unfit for habitation as a result of these doors having been used, and that the doors would need to be replaced to make the dwellings fit for habitation. The assessment also sets out the costs which would be, or have been, reasonably incurred in replacing the fire doors.
The Secretary of State then applies to the court for an order to be made against the manufacturer for the costs of remediation supported by the evidence from the assessor. The order can also include the costs incurred by the Secretary of State from carrying out the assessment and making the application to court.