Commentary on Sections New section 47B: Rail vehicle accessibility compliance certificates: supplementary
90.Section 47B(1) empowers the Secretary of State to make regulations with respect to compliance certificates, and other subsections set out examples of the provisions that may be included in such regulations. These relate in particular to the procedure relating to the application for and granting of certificates, and the conditions to which they may be made subject, together with provisions as to who may apply, and in what form.
91.Subsection (3)(c) enables regulations to specify the information that is to accompany an application for a certificate. In particular, the regulations may require an application to be accompanied by a report of a compliance assessment. Subsection (4) defines a “compliance assessment” as being an assessment of a rail vehicle against those provisions of RVAR with which it is required to conform. Subsection (5) stipulates that the regulations may provide for such assessments to be carried out by a person appointed by the Secretary of State, known as an “appointed assessor”.
92.Subsection (6) applies in the event that regulations under subsection (1) do in fact require that an application for a certificate be accompanied by a report of a compliance assessment carried out by an appointed assessor. It provides that regulations made under subsection (1) may include provisions about the appointment by the Secretary of State of appointed assessors and, under subsection (6)(b), the regulations may make provision for such assessors to charge fees in connection with their work in compiling a compliance assessment or a pre-assessment. Subsection (6)(d) requires the regulations to include provision for referral to the Secretary of State of any dispute between an appointed assessor and a person who requested a compliance assessment about what provisions of RVAR a vehicle should be assessed against or whether or not a vehicle complies with any particular requirement of RVAR.
93.Subsection (7) defines “compliance assessment” in subsection (6)(b) to (d) as including pre-assessment work, for example, giving an advance opinion on the final compliance of a new design feature. This will enable prospective applicants for compliance certificates to obtain a view from an appointed assessor as to the likely compliance of a particular design before embarking on the construction of the feature.