Impartiality Policy Statement

NHASA is the legal entity responsible for certification activities; reference to NHASA in this Policy and Public Statement refers to this legal entity. NHASA Certificates are only issued following a review by an independent authorised and competent member of the management team (who has not been involved in the audit) to ensure that no interest shall predominate. NHASA does not offer (and has never offered) management system consultancy or any other form of consultancy to companies or individuals. NHASA does not offer (and has never offered) an internal audit service to its certified clients. NHASA does not own or have any interest (financial or otherwise) in any other company that offers certification or management system consultancy services. NHASA does not have (and will not form) any relationships with companies who offer consultancy or other services that can be construed as having an impact on the certification services provided by NHASA Any proposed relationship between NHASA and any other company will undergo a risk assessment by the Impartiality Committee prior to that relationship being formalised. Any current relationships with companies, organisations and individuals will be risk assessed on a regular basis to ensure that the relationship does not impact upon the impartiality of the certification process. Individuals employed by or otherwise contracted to NHASA are required to document and record their current and past relationships with all companies. Any situation past or present which may present a potential conflict of interest is required by NHASA to be declared. NHASA will use the information to identify any threats to impartiality and will not use that individual in any capacity unless they can demonstrate that there is no conflict of interest. NHASA will not allocate a member of staff or subcontractor to a certification audit where any past relationship has existed. Exceptionally and at the discretion of the General Manager an individual or sub–contractor may be allocated to a certification audit where a past relationship has existed but there has been no relationship for a minimum of 2 years.