Despite the confusion and media scare mongering aroused by the media, the introduction of the new Part P Building Regulations for
domestic installation work is fully justified by the fact that is could prevent up to eight deaths and 550 serious injuries each year in homes
says Phil Hope MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Speaking at the Annual Dinner of the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), Mr Hope highlighted some of the inaccurate and
misleading stances taken by the media. These include the suggestions that Part P was forced on the UK by the European Union and that
under the new regulation all DIY work has been banned.
He congratulated the ECA for its invaluable contribution to the development and implementation of Part P and reminded the Government
officials, industry leaders and contractors present at the Dinner that: “Part P will be as important for major contractors working on large housing developments as well as small and medium-sized enterprises working for individual householders”.
He went on that say that the ODPM will monitor the performance of the competent person schemes, in order to ensure that the scheme
operators keep to the agreed minimum technical competence requirements for registered installers. In addition, it is an ODPM requirement that all competence schemes should be UKAS accredited within a reasonable period. The IEE’s Electrotechnical Assessment Scheme (EAS) Management Committee is currently reviewing the specification for minimum technical competence requirement.
Tony Morgan, ECA President, welcomed the Government’s support for the new regulations saying that: “The introduction of Part P of
the Building Regulations was the biggest challenge the industry faced over the last year. Having lobbied for years for the better regulation
of electrical installation work, the ECA warmly welcomed legislation designed to improve the safety of fixed electrical installations in the home".
