Scottish Government

CONSULTATION DRAFT

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2007 No.

ROADS AND BRIDGES

The Road Works (Qualifications of Supervisors and Operatives) (Scotland) Regulations 2007

Made - - - - 2007

Laid before the Scottish Parliament 2007

Coming into force - - 2007

The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 126 and 163(1) of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 ^(a) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, following consultation in terms of section 163A of the 1991 Act ^(b), hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Road Works (Qualifications of Supervisors and Operatives) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 and shall come into force on [ ] 2007.

Interpretation

2. -(1) In these Regulations-

"the Act" means the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991;

"approved assessment centre" means an establishment approved by an approved body for the purposes of assessing achievement of units of competence;

"approved body" means a body mentioned in regulation 5;

"approved register" means the register mentioned in regulation 5;

"certificate of competence" means a qualification, award or an equivalent thereto granted under section 126(1) of the Act;

"trained operative" means a person whose presence at the sites of road works is required under section 126(2) of the Act;

"unit of competence" means one of the areas of competence set out in Schedules 1, 3, 5 and 7 and "unit" shall be construed accordingly.

(2) A reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation or Schedule bearing that number in these Regulations.

Prescribed qualification for supervisors

3. -(1) A supervisor has a prescribed qualification for a particular type of supervisory work if-

(a) an approved body has issued that supervisor with a certificate of competence showing that the supervisor has been assessed by an approved assessment centre as having achieved the relevant unit of competence as set out in Schedules 3 and 4 and that certificate is registered in an approved register; or

(b) that supervisor has obtained a qualification of another member state of the European Union which gives an equivalent guarantee of skill and competence to that given by the certificate of competence as required by sub-paragraph (a) above,

provided that, for a period of 2 months beginning with the day on which a supervisor is assessed as having achieved the requisite unit of competence, a supervisor shall be treated as having a prescribed qualification for that type of supervisory work, notwithstanding that an approved body has not issued that supervisor with a certificate of competence or that the certificate issued to the supervisor has not been registered as required by sub-paragraph (a) above.

(2) A supervisor has a prescribed qualification for supervising the replacement of poles, lamps, columns and signs, pole testing or similar works involving minimal breaking up of the road, that supervisor if has qualification number 6 set out in Schedule 4.

Prescribed qualification for training operatives

4. -(1) A trained operative has a prescribed qualification for a particular type of work if-

(a) an approved body has issued that operative with a certificate of competence showing that the operative has been assessed by an approved assessment centre as having achieved the relevant unit of competence as set out in Schedules 1 and 2 and that certificate is registered in an approved register; or

(b) that operative has obtained a qualification of another member state of the European Union which gives an equivalent guarantee of skill and competence to that given by the certificate of competence as required by sub-paragraph (a) above,

provided that, for a period of 2 months beginning with the day on which a trained operative is assessed as having achieved the requisite unit of competence, a trained operative shall be treated as having a prescribed qualification for that type of work, notwithstanding that an approved body has not issued that operative with a certificate of competence or that the certificate issued to the operative not been registered as required by sub-paragraph (a) above.

(2) If the works do not involve breaking up the road or are works only of the type referred to in regulation 3(2), a trained operative has a prescribed qualification if that operative has qualification number 6 set out in Schedule 2.

Approved bodies conferring qualifications

5. -(1) The bodies approved for the purpose of issuing the certificates mentioned in regulations 3 and 4 and the reassessment certificates mentioned in regulation 8 are:-

The City and Guilds of London Institute,

The Scottish Qualifications Authority, and

The Certification and Assessment Board for the Water Industry.

(2) The register approved for the purpose of registering certificates mentioned in regulations 3 and 4 is the register to be kept by the Scottish Qualifications Authority as the registration body approved for the purpose by the Scottish Ministers.

(3) Where an approved body has issued a certificate of competence to a supervisor or a trained operative (as the case may be) it shall, within one month of issuing the certificate, register it in the approved register.

(4) The Scottish Ministers may withdraw any approval given by paragraph (1) or (2) of this regulation if they are satisfied that the body to whom the approval is given has failed satisfactorily to discharge the function of certification or registration under any of the provisions of these Regulations.

Restrictions on qualifications

6. A prescribed qualification for a supervisor may relate to all types of work which may fall to be done by a supervisor, or may be restricted to some types of that work and the requirements of section 126 of the Act shall be deemed to be satisfied only in relation to the types of work to which that qualification relates.

7. A prescribed qualification for a trained operative may relate to all types of work which may fall to be done by a trained operative, or may be restricted to some types of that work and the requirements of section 126 of the Act shall be deemed to be satisfied only in relation to the types of work to which that qualification relates.

Expiry of certificates

8. -(1) A certificate mentioned in regulation 3 or regulation 4 shall cease to be registered on the expiry of 5 years from the date of registration.

(2) Subject to paragraph (5), a certificate may be registered for further successive periods of 5 years provided that an application for registration is received by the registration body no later than 3 months after the expiry of the previous registration and that the application is accompanied by the relevant reassessment certificate.

(3) A supervisor has a reassessment certificate for a particular type of supervisory work if an approved body has issued that supervisor with a certificate showing that the supervisor has been assessed by an approved assessment centre as having achieved the relevant unit of competence as set out in Schedules 7 and 8.

(4) A trained operative has a reassessment certificate for a particular type of work if an approved body has issued that operative with a certificate showing that the operative has been assessed by an approved assessment centre as having achieved the relevant unit of competence as set out in Schedules 5 and 6.

(5) For a period of 2 years starting on 30th April 2007 a person may re-register a certificate referred to in paragraph (2) without it being accompanied by the relevant reassessment certificate.

Notices relating to qualifications given under section 126(1A) or (2A) of the Act

9. For the purposes of sections 126(1A)(b) and 126(2A)(b) of the Act, evidence of the requisite qualification shall be a copy of the certificate of competence entered on the approved register.

10. A notice under subsection (1A) or (2A) of section 126 of the Act may be given until the end of the next working day following the day on which the works are completed.

11. An undertaker shall comply with a notice under subsection (1A) or (2A) of section 126 of the Act by-

(a) providing the names of the persons mentioned in sections 126(1A)(a)(i) and 126(2A)(a)(i) of the Act within 4 hours of the giving of the notice, save that where the 4 hour period expires after 16:30, the undertaker shall respond by 10:00 on the next working day; and

(b) providing evidence of the requisite qualifications of the persons mentioned in sections 126(1A)(a)(i) and 126(2A)(a)(i) no later than the same time in the next working day as the time at which that notice was given.

Revocation

12. The Road Works (Qualifications of Supervisors and Operatives) (Scotland) Regulations 1991 ^(c) are revoked.

Transitional provision

13. -(1) For a period of 2 years starting on 30th April 2007 a person may act as a supervisor for works only of the type referred to in regulation 3(2), if that person has achieved the unit of competence set out as unit 10 in Schedule 3 without having the prescribed qualification registered in the approved register.

(2) For a period of 2 years starting on 30th April 2007 a person may act as a trained operative for works only of the type referred to in regulation 3(2), if that person has achieved the unit of competence set out as unit 2 in Schedule 1 without having the prescribed qualification registered in the approved register.

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew's House,
Edinburgh
2007

SCHEDULE 1 Regulations 2(1), 4(1) and 13(2)

UNITS OF COMPETENCE FOR TRAINED OPERATIVES

Unit 1 Location and avoidance of underground apparatus

Unit 2 Signing, lighting and guarding

Unit 3 Excavation in the road

Unit 4 Reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials

Unit 5 Reinstatement of sub-base and roadbase in non-bituminous materials

Unit 6 Reinstatement in cold-lay bituminous materials

Unit 7 Reinstatement in hot-lay bituminous materials

Unit 8 Reinstatement of concrete slabs

Unit 9 Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

SCHEDULE 2 Regulations 4(1) and (2)

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TRAINED OPERATIVES

SCHEDULE 3 Regulations 2(1), 3(1) and 13(1)

UNITS OF COMPETENCE FOR SUPERVISORS

Unit 1 Location and avoidance of underground apparatus

Unit 10 Monitoring signing, lighting and guarding

Unit 11 Monitoring excavation in the road

Unit 12 Monitoring reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials

Unit 13 Monitoring reinstatement of sub-base and roadbase in non-bituminous materials

Unit 14 Monitoring reinstatement in bituminous materials

Unit 15 Monitoring reinstatement of concrete slabs

Unit 16 Monitoring reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

SCHEDULE 4 Regulation 3(1) and (2)

QUALIFICATIONS FOR SUPERVISORS

SCHEDULE 5 Regulation 2(1) and 8(4)

REASSESSMENT UNITS OF COMPETENCE FOR TRAINED OPERATIVES

Unit 1 Reassessed Location and avoidance of underground apparatus

Unit 2 Reassessed Signing, lighting and guarding

Unit 3 Reassessed Excavation in the road

Unit 4 Reassessed Reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials

Unit 5 Reassessed Reinstatement of sub-base and roadbase in non-bituminous materials

Unit 6 Reassessed Reinstatement in cold-lay bituminous materials

Unit 7 Reassessed Reinstatement in hot-lay bituminous materials

Unit 8 Reassessed Reinstatement of concrete slabs

Unit 9 Reassessed Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

SCHEDULE 6 Regulation 8(4)

REASSESSMENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR TRAINED OPERATIVES

SCHEDULE 7 Regulations 2(1) and 8(3)

REASSESSMENT UNITS OF COMPETENCE FOR SUPERVISORS

Unit 1 Reassessed Location and avoidance of underground apparatus

Unit 10 Reassessed Monitoring signing, lighting and guarding

Unit 11 Reassessed Monitoring excavation in the road

Unit 12 Reassessed Monitoring reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials

Unit 13 Reassessed Monitoring reinstatement of sub-base and roadbase in non-bituminous materials

Unit 14 Reassessed Monitoring reinstatement in bituminous materials

Unit 15 Reassessed Monitoring reinstatement of concrete slabs

Unit 16 Reassessed Monitoring reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

SCHEDULE 8 Regulation 8(3)

REASSESSMENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR SUPERVISORS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribed the qualifications needed for supervisors (regulation 3) and trained operatives (regulation 4), one of each of whom is required by section 126(1) and (2) of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (subject to exceptions) to supervise or be on sites at all times when an undertaker executes road works involving, in the case of both supervisors and trained operatives, breaking up the road, or any sewer, drain, or tunnel under it, or tunnelling or boring under the road and, in the case of trained operatives, opening the road. They revoke and replace the Road Works (Qualifications of Supervisors and Operatives) (Scotland) Regulations 1992.

A supervisor or a trained operative has a prescribed qualification if an approved body has issued that supervisor or operative with a certificate of competence showing that they have been assessed as having achieved the relevant units of competence for the work being executed as set out in Schedules 1 and 2 (operative) and Schedules 3 and 4 (supervisors). Provision is made for the recognition of equivalent qualifications obtained in another member state of the European Union (regulations 3(1)(b) and 4(1)(b)). Regulation 5 prescribes the City and Guilds of London Institute, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (" SQA") and the Certification and Assessment Board for the Water Industry as the approved bodies for the issuing of certificates of competence and provides that SQA is the approved registration body to keep the register of certificates. Regulation 5(4) provides that the Scottish Ministers may withdraw approval from a named body if it fails satisfactorily to discharge its functions.

Regulations 6 and 7 provide that prescribed qualifications may relate to all or any types of work to be done by a supervisor or trained operative. Regulation 8 provides that a certificate expires after 5 years, but may be re-registered for further successive periods of 5 years provided the application is accompanied by the relevant reassessment certificate (Schedules 5 and 6 (operative) and Schedules 7 and 8 (supervisor)).

Regulations 9 to 11 make provision relating to notices about qualifications given under section 126(1A) or (2A) of the Act.

Regulation 12 revokes the Regulations of 1992, and regulation 13 makes transitional provision.

Footnotes

()(a) 1991 c.22. Subsections (1A) and (2A) to (2C) of section 126 were inserted by section 26 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 12). The functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c.46).

()(b) Section 163A was inserted by section 39 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005.

()(c) S.I. 1992/1675.