Part P

Nothing much wrong with the idea of Part P but loads wrong with how it has be implemented.
Absolutely.


My view is that:
Most professional electricians have joined one of the schemes
Cowboys and the like carry on just as before.
The trouble is that many of those who have joined are not competent. Back when you needed 2330 and 2391, basically back when NICEIC had Approved Contractors and that's it, there was a good chance that someone registered knew what they are doing, but since NICEIC invented the Domestic Installer qualification, no chance.

If you pass that, and can prove to an assessor that you understand the regs and can test, you'll get in.

But you can get in with no practical experience of how to do things in real life, and when a customer gets you they are getting someone who may never have done what they are paying for, or seen anyone do it. They are getting someone who has never had to learn fault finding, or even how multi-way switching works. It's shameful.
 
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Some very valids points made. Well said BAS.

Whilst i'm obviously going to be biased, as a fee paying, self certifying electrician, i wonder if Part P will ever have any teeth?
I understand that there actually have been a few prosecutions of 'Professional' Sparks who have not followed the rules, however these seem to be few and far between.
AFAIK, there have never been any prosections of private DIYers who have flaunted the rules themselves.

Although many will feel this is a harsh resolve, but i think until a few homeowners have been fined and this publicised, there will be no change to the present system.
Maybe we need a few examples to be set by our law courts, these to be well publicised, maybe by something along the lines of a consumer affairs programme, such as watchdog/rogue traders. After all, its not uncommon for Matt Allwright and his Portugese mate to highlight rogue gas fitters, why not do the same with rogue sparks? This may enlighten Joe public into the realisation that although his home is his castle, he can't just 'do as i please' and there may be a strong possibility of consequences to his actions.

I also feel that if such prosecutions came about and it was proven that the supplier of the parts used was reckless in their quest for revenue, that 'shed' should be standing shoulder to shoulder in the dock, along with the householder. After all, they have a duty to their customers, as does any professional trader. They can easily have restrictions placed upon them regarding the sale of solvents and knives to under 18's, why not extend this responsibility to supply of other potentially dangererous equipment?
This brings me to perhaps a controversial suggestion that sites such as this one do nothing to stop the perpetuation of the rogue DIYer. On the whole, i find this site interesting to use but how many times has advice been given to a DIYer without regard to the rules by which we should be playing? I recall a thread, maybe a month ago, where advice was being given regarding a consumer unit change and kitchen wiring. A regular contributor here was happy to give out the info as he saw it, but without mentioning Part P requirements. When another spark alluded to the aspect of breaking the law, the contributor said he was not doing anything of the sort, even though the evidence in the thread plainly contridicted this! I don't know if this was down to lack of knowledge, lack of care or plain reckless behaviour. I'm all in favour of assisting people who may be seeking advice for valid reasons, but to go into depth on how to do a job which could be illegal (given our laws at present) and have dangerous consequences is gross negligence.

I'm sure we'll here the 'poor' householder defence, but if you have deemed yourself to be responsible enough to own your own home, then you should be responsible enough to carry out any changes in the correct manner.

Maybe if legislation was such that as part of a house sale, it was an obligation that a thorough PIR (not a drive by) or something similar were carried out, maybe in time this would lead to awareness by the home owner of the dangers associated with sub standard electrical installations and subsequently institute a mindset that we should not cut corners to save a few quid.

I dont wish to make the electrical industry a closed shop, but either Part P needs to be cleaned up, simplified for the masses and publicised or just scrap it and the fees that go with it and lets have a free-for-all where each person will be judged on their merit and let the buyer beware, dangerous failings in any electrical work carrying a heavy penalty to the owner of that installation.
 
Whilst i'm obviously going to be biased, as a fee paying, self certifying electrician, i wonder if Part P will ever have any teeth?
Probably not.


I understand that there actually have been a few prosecutions of 'Professional' Sparks who have not followed the rules, however these seem to be few and far between.
AFAIK those few have been against grossly incompetent and dangerous cowboys who have done shocking work and lied about being registered. They may have had Building Regs contraventions added to the mix, but mainly it was trading standards offences they were really done for.

I'm not aware of a single incidence of a competent or qualified electrician who has not done shoddy work being prosecuted simply for not notifying, and I'm not holding my breath waiting for one.

It would make an interesting FOI enquiry, maybe early next year, when Part P will be 5 years old, to take the figures from the original consultation document to show how many electrical installation jobs will have been done in that time, and ask how many prosecutions there have been for failure to notify.


AFAIK, there have never been any prosections of private DIYers who have flaunted the rules themselves.
AFAIK know too, and ditto re the breath-holding.


Although many will feel this is a harsh resolve, but i think until a few homeowners have been fined and this publicised, there will be no change to the present system.
Maybe we need a few examples to be set by our law courts, these to be well publicised, maybe by something along the lines of a consumer affairs programme, such as watchdog/rogue traders. After all, its not uncommon for Matt Allwright and his Portugese mate to highlight rogue gas fitters, why not do the same with rogue sparks? This may enlighten Joe public into the realisation that although his home is his castle, he can't just 'do as i please' and there may be a strong possibility of consequences to his actions.
Dream on.

Part P was put into place to stop the incessant whining of NICEIC and the ECA. They've got what they wanted now, which is a nice new revenue stream, and the Govt have got what they wanted, which was an end to the lobbying, so they are all happy. They'll do nothing.


I also feel that if such prosecutions came about and it was proven that the supplier of the parts used was reckless in their quest for revenue, that 'shed' should be standing shoulder to shoulder in the dock, along with the householder.
Very tricky - you could never prove recklessness. They sell sand and cement and bricks too - you can't seriously expect them to be in the dock if they sell those to someone who uses them without Building Regs approval or Planning Permission.


After all, they have a duty to their customers, as does any professional trader.
They will sell me lighting fluid for a BBQ. If I use it to facilitate arson is that their fault?

They will sell me rope and chains and padlocks - should they be required to ensure that I'm not going to use them to kidnap and imprison someone?


They can easily have restrictions placed upon them regarding the sale of solvents and knives to under 18's, why not extend this responsibility to supply of other potentially dangererous equipment?
They could have that done to them, but the point is they have not. The sale of electrical installation components is legal, just as is the sale of paving slabs. The use of both may require official approval, but it is not their job to make sure their customers get whatever approvals are needed.


This brings me to perhaps a controversial suggestion that sites such as this one do nothing to stop the perpetuation of the rogue DIYer. On the whole, i find this site interesting to use but how many times has advice been given to a DIYer without regard to the rules by which we should be playing? I recall a thread, maybe a month ago, where advice was being given regarding a consumer unit change and kitchen wiring. A regular contributor here was happy to give out the info as he saw it, but without mentioning Part P requirements. When another spark alluded to the aspect of breaking the law, the contributor said he was not doing anything of the sort, even though the evidence in the thread plainly contridicted this! I don't know if this was down to lack of knowledge, lack of care or plain reckless behaviour. I'm all in favour of assisting people who may be seeking advice for valid reasons, but to go into depth on how to do a job which could be illegal (given our laws at present) and have dangerous consequences is gross negligence.
Let me propose a reasonable analogy for you to ponder. Imagine you worked in some kind of primary health-care capacity, and someone under 16 asked you for advice on, or help obtaining, contraception. Would you do as much as you could to prevent unwanted pregnancies and (possibly fatal) STDs, or would you say "I'm not going to help you as it's illegal for you to have sex"?

My position is that as long as people are fully aware of what the Building Regulations require, it's no skin off my nose if they don't notify. I'm far more concerned about their competence to do the job safely.

The reason I often ask people what they told LABC when they applied for BR approval is not that it's an oblique way to say they shouldn't be doing it, it's perfectly genuine, in case they do think they can just get an electrician to sign it off and all will be OK. If I think they shouldn't do it because they are incompetent I have no hesitation in saying so.

The ones that get my goat are those who are patently lying about using an electrician who is temporarily on holiday/abducted by aliens/bricked up electing a new Pope, and just want to find out every tiny detail so that they can buy all the materials, do all the design and do all the first fix before he returns.

Oh - and those who must realise that they don't know anything about electrics but still think it's OK for them to fiddle.


I'm sure we'll here the 'poor' householder defence, but if you have deemed yourself to be responsible enough to own your own home, then you should be responsible enough to carry out any changes in the correct manner.
Indeed. But what's more important for them to do correctly, the job itself, or notifying LABC?


Maybe if legislation was such that as part of a house sale, it was an obligation that a thorough PIR (not a drive by) or something similar were carried out, maybe in time this would lead to awareness by the home owner of the dangers associated with sub standard electrical installations and subsequently institute a mindset that we should not cut corners to save a few quid.
Education will work better than legislation. I'm sure that even the most egregious mistakes found in DIY installations are due to simple ignorance, not a callous disregard for things which they do actually know.


I dont wish to make the electrical industry a closed shop, but either Part P needs to be cleaned up, simplified for the masses and publicised or just scrap it and the fees that go with it and lets have a free-for-all where each person will be judged on their merit and let the buyer beware, dangerous failings in any electrical work carrying a heavy penalty to the owner of that installation.
The free-for-all was what we had, and the reality was that it wasn't particularly dangerous. The DIYer is "collateral damage" with Part P, which was never about safety and was always about increasing the profits and influence of NICEIC and the ECA.
 
(I will get flamed for the competant comment but hey the Gas guys do it so why not elecy. Just because someone has not taken the 17th edition exams or what ever they are called does not mean they are competant for certain jobs)

Doh - I actually meant

does not mean they are NOT competant for certain jobs
 
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As to any retail outlet selling items how could they know if they are for a boat, caravan or other non building or commercial premises rather than for a domestic building?

It is impossible to do anything until the person not the company is registered and it would have to include all electricians not just those working on domestic and I could see many firms not wanting to have to send all their sparks for training and registering. Plus where would you draw the line. Would those who worked on PLC's, Instruments, and other special fields need a card.

As I have said it was good idea but does not work. I can work for any company as a domestic electrician and yet if I want to work for myself I can't do the same work without buying loads of books and paying loads of money.
 
Hi BAS, I think we have a similar view point of the problem we are looking at, albeit from a subtly different POV.

I mention legislation, you mention education. I think this is sort of singing from the same hymn sheet. My thought is that to give the education to the masses, it would help that someone somewhere could improve their sales figures or viewing figures (staying with the Matt Allwright idea for a moment) by highlighting this situation. Currently, its not going to make good TV for them reporting on something which may or may not be illegal. If legislation was such that rogue sparks (whether professional or diy) could easily be shown that they are breaking the law, and prosecution could be a likely outcome, the reporters would have something to get their teeth into. This would have an increased probability of getting air time, weekday evenings, therefore indirectly providing the 'education' that i think we both agree is needed as a catalyst to adherance to the law.
This may sound like i want a closed shop arrangement but i really do not, but whilst we have bona-fide fee paying sparks who have a lot of overheads to cover before making any profit, it leaves me with a feeling of dispair when its obvious that Joe Public either doesn't know or doesn't care and will do as they please knowing full well that dog of a law has no teeth and hardly anyone can even hear it bark.

Re the sheds, i understand that they cant police every customer who has a desire to buy something from them, that would be commercial suicide. However, a nice big informative notice placed at each end of the isle where materials for potentially restricted work would at least show they have taken 'reasonably practicable' steps to inform their customers of their legal position. Couldn't really ask for more than that and using another idea, you cant drive a car off a showroom forecourt until you have shown the seller that you have valid insurance to do so. That doesn't stop you from ploughing directly into a bus stop full of folk, but at least the car seller has taken steps to fulfil his duty as a trustworthy trader.

I understand your analogy of the not giving advice to under 16s re sex advice and whilst i do ponder that might i offer you the analogy of Americans gun laws.
We all know that guns dont kill people, people kill people and at one time you could walk into a gun store in many states and purchase a firearm and live ammo in one go. It is in their consitution that every man has a right to bear arms and although a lot of english people probably think its crazy, say that to an American and they will think you are crazy. It wasn't until the attempted assasination of Ronny Reagan that the Brady Law was introduced. This forced a cooling off period to stop you being peed off with someone and within a few hours have all the materials required to kill them. The law is still such that it is possible to do that, but it now takes longer to do so. This only came about due to the highly publicised shooting. I understand its not directly analogous, but it goes someway to illustrate the 'education' that took place around that time.

In regard to other aspects of electrical work, we have other laws governing them and i wasn't really trying to expand the conversation into those fields, EAWR/HSAW etc. I was concentrating only on un-checked installations of potentially lethal voltages within the home by un-trained people.

'The law is an ass' is a much underused phrase. I naively hope that politicians pull their finger out and either scrap it or re-draught Part P requirements. However, i fully expect them to continue feathering their own nest with an 'i'm alright, Jack' mentality and not give a fig about the honest traders amongst us until a member of their family gets fried whilst doing the funky-electron dance due to having accepted the 'lowest quote, sod the certificate' bathroom refit.

BTW, i wasn't referring to you about detailed advice given. Although we have disagreed over a number of questions, i fully applaud the way which you respond to questioners in respect of LABC notifications and repeated guidance toward the competent persons register. I hope you continue with this aspect of your posts. ;)
 
Maybe if legislation was such that as part of a house sale, it was an obligation that a thorough PIR (not a drive by) or something similar were carried out, maybe in time this would lead to awareness by the home owner of the dangers associated with sub standard electrical installations and subsequently institute a mindset that we should not cut corners to save a few quid.

No offence but for the amount of difference this would make it would just be another industry bolster with a load of electricians making easy money. They screwed it up by not making the Survey part of the house pack but that of course would benifit everyone bar seller & surveyours. Much like the current requirements to have an energy check on a house. Out of the 21 people I knew that bought a house 0 cared what the energy rating was.
 
I think having a PIR performed prior to every house sale would be valuable. First, it would show up the occasions where there is some dodgy work, and that has to be a good thing. Second, it would encourage a large increase of testers in the same way the Energy Certificate has caused an army of testers to be out there. That can only drive prices for PIRs down which has to be good for the consumer. These testers could also be 'approved' straight off the bat for minor works which would drive down the price of services in general. Again, good for the consumer. The more people out there competing for the consumer's business the better.

Of course if these testers found any code 1's then they wouldn't necessarily have the ability to fix it, but at least the problem has been identified when it could previously have gone missed. This can only be a good thing.

This was suggested I believe early on in the HIP consultation process and I always thought it was going to happen. Obviously got killed, no doubt several parties were against it, and not all have the consumer's interest at heart.
 
None taken ;) , you could well be right and i lay myself open to constructive correction.
However, mentioning HIP's is yet another example of how our government have screwed things up. Maybe if they spent more time thinking about the people they represent and less time thinking how to screw the most from their expense accounts, the laws they pass would make more sense!
I too would not be swayed by a house's energy efficiency, if you like a house, the energy report doesn't mean much, but if in that report it could potentially say something like 'needs rewire, dangerous condition' that would be a real wake up call to the seller. As with most laws this would take time to propagate its way into the mindset of joe public, but every long journey starts with a small step. As to sparks making easy money, that will always be the case if the opportunity exists, but given a panel of law makers and representative experts, this itself could also be subject to regulation. I (believe me or not) feel that im a bona-fide spark with a reputation to uphold in the real world. If my idea ever came to fruition, i personally feel that i would easily be able to make an honest days money for an honest days work. In my utopian dream world, given that regulation would be in place, the rogue traders would eventually float to the surface and could be scraped off
 
It is impossible to do anything until the person not the company is registered and it would have to include all electricians not just those working on domestic and I could see many firms not wanting to have to send all their sparks for training and registering. Plus where would you draw the line. Would those who worked on PLC's, Instruments, and other special fields need a card.
The more I hear about "electricians" who don't know what they are doing, and the more I see posts from them here, the more I wonder if when we advise people to get an electrician we should further advise them to ask what qualifications he has, and if it is just the EAL NVQ, and not the traditional C&G set, don't use him.
 
I mention legislation, you mention education. I think this is sort of singing from the same hymn sheet.
I meant education as in teaching householders how to do the job properly, not legislation to try and stop them doing it improperly..


Re the sheds, i understand that they cant police every customer who has a desire to buy something from them, that would be commercial suicide. However, a nice big informative notice placed at each end of the isle where materials for potentially restricted work would at least show they have taken 'reasonably practicable' steps to inform their customers of their legal position. Couldn't really ask for more than that and using another idea, you cant drive a car off a showroom forecourt until you have shown the seller that you have valid insurance to do so. That doesn't stop you from ploughing directly into a bus stop full of folk, but at least the car seller has taken steps to fulfil his duty as a trustworthy trader.
They could do that, I agree. I've never looked at gas boilers in a shed - what do they tell people about the gas regs?

I understand your analogy of the not giving advice to under 16s re sex advice and whilst i do ponder that might i offer you the analogy of Americans gun laws.
Ha - so CUs in one store and the MCBs in another? :LOL: (No I know that's not what you meant...).

As an off-topic aside, but prompted by what you wrote, I heard recently that every shot fired at Reagan missed, the only bullet which hit him ricocheted off the bulletproof glass of his limo.

Who says Americans don't do irony....


However, i fully expect them to continue feathering their own nest with an 'i'm alright, Jack' mentality and not give a fig about the honest traders amongst us until a member of their family gets fried whilst doing the funky-electron dance due to having accepted the 'lowest quote, s** the certificate' bathroom refit.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...tonge&btnG=Search&meta=cr=countryUK|countryGB
 
I mention legislation, you mention education. I think this is sort of singing from the same hymn sheet.
I meant education as in teaching householders how to do the job properly, not legislation to try and stop them doing it improperly..

Hmm, maybe both are valid approaches, 'carrot and stick' if you will..
Re the sheds, i understand that they cant police every customer who has a desire to buy something from them, that would be commercial suicide. However, a nice big informative notice placed at each end of the isle where materials for potentially restricted work would at least show they have taken 'reasonably practicable' steps to inform their customers of their legal position. Couldn't really ask for more than that and using another idea, you cant drive a car off a showroom forecourt until you have shown the seller that you have valid insurance to do so. That doesn't stop you from ploughing directly into a bus stop full of folk, but at least the car seller has taken steps to fulfil his duty as a trustworthy trader.
They could do that, I agree. I've never looked at gas boilers in a shed - what do they tell people about the gas regs?

Not professing to be an expert in gas installs, but would i be right in thinking there is a subtle difference here- DIY or 'not for profit' gas installs are not governed, so DIY boiler installs are not prohibited, whereas PartP is all encompassing, so even diy socket and the like are governed

I understand your analogy of the not giving advice to under 16s re sex advice and whilst i do ponder that might i offer you the analogy of Americans gun laws.
Ha - so CUs in one store and the MCBs in another? :LOL: (No I know that's not what you meant...).

As an off-topic aside, but prompted by what you wrote, I heard recently that every shot fired at Reagan missed, the only bullet which hit him ricocheted off the bulletproof glass of his limo.

Who says Americans don't do irony....

'Only in America', an appropriate phrase for many reasons! :confused:

Throughout a trip to Vegas a few years ago, Mrs. Faradayski was asked for ID at least 12 times whilst at a casino bar, asking for a non-alcoholic drink. Although the years have been kind to her, she is clearly over 21 years old, so the day we went to the gun store, whilst choosing which fully automatic live weapons to blast away with, i now by default pulled out driving license and passport to prove our ages. "Not necessary, Sir" was the response "how many magazines would you like for the M16?" " The magnum .44, ahh, good choice, Sir!, That baby really has some stopping power.", -Although they weren't impressed when i chose the MP5 aswell, telling them that it was the weapon of choice of the SAS, ha!

You couldn't make it up :eek:




However, i fully expect them to continue feathering their own nest with an 'i'm alright, Jack' mentality and not give a fig about the honest traders amongst us until a member of their family gets fried whilst doing the funky-electron dance due to having accepted the 'lowest quote, s** the certificate' bathroom refit.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...nG=Search&meta=cr=countryUK|countryGB[/quote]

Not wishing to bring bad fortune to anybody, but i think it would take another occurence such as that to make anything happen to the law as they stand. :(
 

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