8(1) The Licencee shall permit a person authorised by the Secretary of State:
to have access to the Station; and
to inspect the Licence and Log and to inspect the apparatus of the Station at any and all reasonable times (or when, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, an urgent situation exists at any time) for the purpose of verifying compliance with the terms of the Licence.
The Radiocommunications Agency is the government body that issues the various licences required for the use of radio equipment in the UK. It is the further duty of the Agency to ensure that the equipment is used in accordance with the licence. It must investigate and trace sources of interference and the like. In many cases contravention of the licence occurs because of a fault within the equipment which the licencee is not aware of, or that RA officers must check to rule out a station as the cause of a case of interference.
8(2) When, in the opinion of a person authorised by the Secretary of State:
the Licencee is in breach of the Licence; and
breach justifies immediate restriction or close down, the Licencee shall restrict the operation of or close down and cease to operate, the station (or any apparatus comprised in the Station) forthwith in accordance with the demand of a person authorised by the Secretary of State for the temporary period specified in the demand.
Amateur radio is just a hobby, but there are many services for whom radio communications are much more vital. If a fault on your equipment were to be causing interference to one of these services then it may be that the RA may restrict or even forbid operation of your equipment until the fault is fixed. The RA will do all they can to enable you to operate, but if you choose not to be cooperative, or fail to comply with a restriction then they may be forced to order you to close down.
Extracts from the syllabus and BR68F ©Crown copyright Radiocommunications Agency