According to the MoD’s website:
The Defence Aviation Safety Board direct.
The Defence Aviation Safety Centre advise, formulate, regulate and validate as directed by DASB.
DPA and DLO implement.
Who verifies and audits? It seems this is down to DPA and DLO themselves. Such self regulation is fine, but within these organisations one would expect an independent body overseeing the IPTs. This would ensure a commonality of process and procedure. To my knowledge, no such body exists, leaving safety to the whim of individual IPTs who are apparently not obliged to employ the requisite experience or knowledge. The demise of specialist departments some years ago, with their responsibilities devolved to IPTs, meant that few IPTs had a full-time posts for safety and Quality Assurance specialists. Therefore, these important subjects became a miniscule part of the job of many, instead of the specialism of an independent few. Few would be sent on safety courses if safety was 2% of their job. The training budget would be concentrated on their primary tasks. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was no longer an aviation safety course for DPA or DLO to attend.
Does anyone remember the Aircraft and Radio Mods Committees? Run by experienced but independent specialists whose c.v. had to include the practical repair/overhaul/management of the systems or platforms they were deliberating. They carried airworthiness delegation and were selected for their experience and proven ability; not by rank or grade. Disbanded long ago, but they were the nearest thing to what I’ve discussed above.