It seems that all Part P competent persons schemes were not created equal. The Government has been forced to act over complaints that some scheme operators are “fast-tracking” contractors onto their registers before the necessary on-site assessments of their work have been carried out (page 7).

The Office of the Deputy Minister can ill afford more controversy over the introduction of electrical safety into the Building Regulations. As it is, few reputable contractors are in favour of the way the new Part P has been handled; even fewer will be happy to know that such scant checks are being carried out on those electrical firms that have never previously bothered with industry regulation.

The concern is that a firm that is fast-tracked onto one of these schemes without any assessment of their work will end up causing a death. Public faith in the scheme would dissipate overnight.

UKAS is the body that could make sure these schemes are operating properly. The ODPM has given scheme operators three years to get their acts together and achieve UKAS approval. Unfortunately, a lot of accidents can happen in three years.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor