New website helps people steer clear of rogue electricians
2 Jul 2014 03:50 PM
Website will provide
information for people to find registered, competent electricians in their
area.
A new website launched will
provide an easy to use and single information point for people to find a
registered, competent electrician in their area, or to check that a company
they are planning on using is registered.
Similar to the ‘Gas Safe
Register’ for boiler engineers the ‘Competent Person Electrical
Register’ lists electricians who meet core technical standards required
by government.
The www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk website is being unveiled
by Minister for Communities Stephen Williams and has been developed by
electrical competent person scheme operators with support from the
government.
Stephen Williams
said:
For all the thousands of skilled
and reliable electricians there are across the country it’s often the
dangerous or dishonest actions of a small minority of rogue electricians that
get the attention. I want everyone to be able to get repair and improvement
work done safely in their home and this new, single website provides an easy
first port of call to find a registered, trustworthy local
electrician.
All registered electrical firms
in England and Wales are listed on this new website and entitled to use the new
registered competent person electrical logo on their vans, websites and
promotional material.
Electricians are assessed for
their competence before they are registered and are subject to periodic random
surveillance to check that their work meets safety and quality standards.
Across England and Wales there are 42,000 registered
electricians.
Standards of electrical safety
in homes are rising both through improved products and raised standards for
electricians. The annual number of electric shock and electrical fire
fatalities has fallen from around 90 in the mid 1990s to 55
now.
Emma Clancy, Chief Executive
Officer of Certsure, which operates theNICEIC and ELECSA brands said:
Choosing someone to carry out
work in your home is a decision that should never be taken
lightly.
Consumers now have just one name
and one easily recognisable mark to remember and they can be reassured that
everyone listed on the site has had a sample of their work checked and assessed
in accordance with the required electrical standards.
NAPIT (National
Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers) Group Chief
Executive Officer, Michael Andrews added:
The creation of this site and
mark are evidence of the strides being taken by the industry to come together
for the greater good.
It is not only an added benefit
for consumers but also a mark that registered electrical firms can be proud to
be associated with. All Full Scope installers carrying out electrical work in
dwellings in England and Wales can be easily identified via the new mark and
their company details listed on the user-friendly register.
Further
information
Before January 2005 there were
no restrictions on who did electrical work in people’s homes or how it
should be done.
The Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG) authorises bodies to operate schemes under which
their members are deemed competent to self-certify that their work complies
with the building regulations for England. A similar scheme is authorised by
the Welsh government.
All Competent Person Scheme
Operators are required to meet DCLG’sconditions of authorisation for work undertaken in England and
the Welsh government applies identical conditions in Wales. These include
requirements on the technical competence and safeguards for
customers.