Thanks to all for the above.
Believe me, I've been in aviation since 77 and have acted as QA auditor, manager, Part M CAM, Subpart G QM, LAE, trainer - loads of stuff; I've run training in HF, Parts 145, M, FTS etc, etc. I've never experienced the reluctance I relate to you in the past.
What we were/are trying to achieve where I am now is no more onerous than I've seen elsewhere. Finally, I stood in front of a team of guys this morning and went through exactly what is required (after all that I'd described earlier) and I think we may have made some progress; audit will tell