Hi Mark,

Generally permit issuers are Authorised Persons who have an electrical/engineering background and as such they are able to identify any issues with proposed switching schedules/isolations/installations etc. as they are the ones who are signing off the work.

We used this company in my old place: https://www.ppltraining.co.uk/training-course/mechanical-and-electrical-safe-systems-of-work/low-voltage/authorised-person-electrical-low-voltage-city-and-guilds-accredited but of course it depends on whether it is LV/HV. The person issuing the permits should have knowledge of the electrical systems being worked on so that they can identify issues/answer questions which would mean additional in house training or asking the company to develop something more unique to you.

Generally what most organisations do is appoint someone as an Authorised Person to be able to issue permits for 'dead working etc.'. The appointment generally comes from an Authorised Engineer who will assess competence, however, when 'live working' this should be signed off by someone higher up in the food chain with support from someone who is competent on the electical system.

I would suggest reviewing the process for this in a bit more detail to undertand what roles etc. you need i.e. Competent Person, Responsible Person, Authorised Person and Authorised Engineers etc.