Following an investigation by the Parliamentary Ombudsman after a complaint had been received by a member of the public, recommendations were made to strengthen transparency and accountability in the regulation of retail outlets selling bottled LPG.

The Office said that the investigation found that members of the public had no access to the conditions attached to LPG authorisations, no opportunity to make representations when authorisations were granted or renewed, and no dedicated complaints procedure for affected third parties.

It explained that the complainant lives in the vicinity of a ground floor retail establishment which is also in the business of selling bottled LPG. Given the hazardous and volatile nature of LPG, the complainant had ”significant health and safety concerns over this retail activity.”

The Office said that as the activity is regulated by REWS, he wrote to the Regulator and:

requested that he be given a copy of the permit granted to the retail establishment including the outcome of any case study; and

requested an explanation as to why residents who are directly impacted by this activity were not informed that an application was submitted for the purposes of the issuance of a permit to sell bottled LPG.

As his email to REWS remained without a reply he proceeded to file a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, wherein he requested that the Regulator provide a substantive reply.

Following the intervention of the Office, the complainant was provided with an official reply from REWS, where among other things he was informed that the business owner had an official Authorisation issued by the Regulator to sell LPG cylinders from a fixed point of retail.

The Regulator elaborated that in order to obtain said Authorisation the applicant had to satisfy a number of conditions including filing technical reports, obtaining a planning permit, providing a bank guarantee, have insurance cover and submit a yearly report

The recommendations made by the Office were also accepted. As a result:

– REWS introduced measures allowing greater access to authorisation information.

– A complaints procedure for third parties was established.

– Consultations are underway on public representations during the authorisation process.

– A broader regulatory review and more rigorous inspection regime are being implemented.

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