UKAS is appointed as the sole national accreditation body in the UK by statutory instrument (No 3155/2009) and operates under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills and UKAS. The MoU sets out the responsibilities of both UKAS and Government in the operation of an effective accreditation system. The MoU was originally signed following the setting up of UKAS in 1995, but was revised in 2009 to reflect the changes required by the statutory appointment of UKAS as the national accreditation body. The appendices to the MoU, which set out the activities to which the appointment applies, are also regularly reviewed and updated. These activities are normally described through reference to specific International, European or British standards. A list of management system certification standards and normative documents covered under UKAS accreditation is maintained separately.
The statutory instrument is available from the OPSI website.