Over a year on from the launch of the reporting tool for unsafe and non-compliant electrical work, following a unique collaboration by the Electrical Safety Roundtable (ESR) and TrustMark, the results continue to highlight electrical safety concerns in the owner-occupied sector.
70% of the electrical safety faults which have been reported over the last 12 months are in the owner-occupied sector, with 27% of total responses submitted identifying a category 1, immediate risk to life, hazard. These statistics highlight an undetermined risk in an area that is not currently covered by any legislation to require regular electrical safety checks.
The Electrical Safety Roundtable in the Home Chair, Chris Pack commented: “The information collected through this reporting tool suggests that, proportionally, electrical safety standards in owner occupied dwellings are of concern and in some cases pose a risk to life. We would urge the Government to take heed of these findings, and support Lord Foster’s Domestic Premises (Electrical Safety Certificate) Bill, which requires an electrical safety certificate to be provided to prospective purchasers of domestic premises in specified circumstances. This is comparable to the need for a seller to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate at the point of sale and would enhance standards of electrical safety by flagging any serious issues with the electrical installation to the purchaser, allowing them to make an informed decision about what remedial work, if anything, is required.”
With 57% of those utilising the tool being registered electricians, 32% being homeowners and 11% being tenants there is broad interest in the initiative which allows a fuller picture of the electrical safety standards in homes to be gathered.
The reporting tool has remained a consistently popular link on the ESR website and with support and promotion from industry partners such as NAPIT, BEAMA and LABC, it remains a valuable resource. We urge industry stakeholders to promote this tool and all electricians, homeowners and tenants to use it to report unsafe electrical work, to enable us to fill a vital data gap on the extent and type of unsafe electrical work in homes across the UK.
Simon Ayers, Chief Executive of TrustMark, said: “The importance of raising standards across all areas of work done in the home has not diminished as these latest annual figures show. It’s encouraging to see that homeowners and tenants are using the reporting tool, broadening the area from which data is gathered. These latest figures underline, yet again, the necessity of using trained, competent installers for any electrical works carried out in the home along with maintaining our focus on improving skills, training and knowledge across the industry.”
To find out more about the reporting tool, click here: Report Unsafe Work - ESR (electricalsafetyroundtable.co.uk)
To access the reporting tool, click here: http://www.reportunsafeelectricalwork.co.uk/