Competent Persons Scheme

[Deleted member 26818]

Thanks for all your comments. I'm sure they will be very useful. Do you think a centralised register of all registered electricians, jobs completed and an automated notification system would make the process much better?

Not particularly.
At present there is a centralised Planning application process.
You complete the form online, pay the fee, then individual Local Authorities may refuse your application and require information that is not requested by the online form.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Perhaps the real reason Part P was introduced, was to generate revenue?

yeah ,for the scammers .two many fingers in the pot !

 

[Deleted member 106280]

Not particularly.
At present there is a centralised Planning application process.
You complete the form online, pay the fee, then individual Local Authorities may refuse your application and require information that is not requested by the online form.

But what about for the Competent Persons Scheme? How do you see the process you mentioned being improved?

 

[buzzlightyear]

But what about for the Competent Persons Scheme? How do you see the process you mentioned being improved

more like scrap it .
every tom dick & harry going to the big orange house and other places
getting their own gear .and putting in them self's this part p is a joke from the time it was conceived. not one government put it the paper or national TV .

 

[Deleted member 26818]

But what about for the Competent Persons Scheme? How do you see the process you mentioned being improved?

Not sure that the process needs improvement in regards to Competent Person Schemes.
A House holder employs a registered person to do the work, that registered person makes the notification via their scheme, job done.
What needs improving, is what happens when that registered person (for whatever reason) does not make notification.

 

[Midwest]

It does seem a mockery that Part P was supposedly introduced after someone died due to faulty wiring in a kitchen and now doesn’t require electrical work within a kitchen to be notified.
Perhaps the real reason Part P was introduced, was to generate revenue?

Think that's one of those urban myths, Part P introduced because of an MP's daughter was tragically electrocuted.

But, can't argue about the money generation. I don't think it fair that a sole trader has to pay the same fee, as does a company with several electricians. But my thinking is biased.

 

[Midwest]

Thanks for all your comments. I'm sure they will be very useful. Do you think a centralised register of all registered electricians, jobs completed and an automated notification system would make the process much better?

If you've watched that committee vid that Lee posted, you'll see 5 witnesses giving evidence in the first piece. One of those was/is a member here. You'll hear they couldn't agree amongst themselves completely. The Competent Persons web site, you mentioned, in concept seems a could idea. However, getting registered doesn't seem to be that constrictive, there are dozens of other non government similar sites, and it seems, very few members of the public know of its existence.

Which is why I posted my opinion in #11. What is trying to be achieved is 'bringing electrical work in dwellings under building regulations control will reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by faults in electrical installations. It is expected that nationally Part P will lead to an improvement in the competence of electrical contractors and to an improvement in the overall quality of electrical work'
(citation IET What will be the benefits of Part P?). Not sure its achieved, what it set out to do.

 

[PEG]

...We have been down this road,before

...How about,if you have a scheme sticker on your van,and cannot understand or explain,why your MFT shows a voltage on an "isolated" cable... 3 volunteer members of the public,can pelt you with fruit?

Other than that,this thread will invariably descend in to moon-howling

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

lets face it, you can have all the regulations and schemes in the world, cowboys do not care about the quality or safety of their work, and only care about quick profit. they will as they always have done break the rules and carry on regardless. the only thing that will change this is robust enforcement. and then actual punishment as unless they kill somebody and face a manslaughter wrap. they will be fined and at worse get community service.
people moan about part p and the schemes but that is not the point, the point is as i have mentioned people flouting rules as they know there is no likelihood of being caught or punished, these people will always break the rules. so in some ways the part p and schemes have to some extent weeded out the real bad cowboys as your scam and rogues will not be likely to fork out the money for kit, books and then be assessed to join a scheme. sure a very small minority of people have got in the schemes and shouldnt have been allowed given their skills or work standards. but overall the process has had some benefit. We often discuss the number of fires in cu's etc that was behind the change in AMD 3 it would be interesting to now how many of these were caused by Domestic Installers and actual fully nvq'd and apprentice served electricians, as i have seen far more poor 'qualified' sparks than i have DI's... you cant blame the schemes and their existence coming from the part p changes for a lot of the poor and dangerous work out there. that is down to a lack of enforcement...

 

[Dave OCD]

I think that good competent people who have been properly assessed in their workmanship and knowledge should be able to notify as necessary without scheme membership or a punitive fee. Or at the very least reduce the frequency of 'surveillance visits' to 3 or even 5 yearly with a more thorough assessment and real world cost.