In 2009, The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) appointed UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) as its national accreditation body. This appointment empowered UKAS to undertake the accreditation of certification bodies in the UK, according to ISO/IEC 17021, for the certification of management system standards (under the Accreditation Regulations of 2009), amongst other accreditation activities.
It is important to ensure that the certification body you use for the certification of a management system standard (for instance ISO/IEC 27001 or ISO/IEC 22031) is accredited by the official national accreditation body, and that the national accreditation body is a member of the IAF, such as UKAS in the United Kingdom.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2009 between BIS and UKAS to maintain and promote a strong national accreditation service in the UK.
Those that falsely claim accreditation in relation to management system certification should be referred to Trading Standards or the Office of Fair Trading immediately.