The Electrical Safety
Roundtable (ESR), a leading industry forum that unites influential organisations
to improve electrical safety in the home, has today launched a new report that
investigates the current regulatory enforcement landscape for domestic
electrical installations in England under Part P of the Building Regulations.
Research for the
Electrical Safety in the Home:
Enforcement of Part P of the Building Regulations in England report,
sponsored by the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers,
was conducted via an extensive Freedom of Information request that returned an
87% response rate from local authorities in England, making the investigation
one of the largest of its kind.
It found that accommodative enforcement
of Part P of the Building Regulations, which relies on persuasion over
penalties, is common among local authorities.
At the same
time, it highlighted the financial strains on local authorities and a lack of
enforcement powers below the level of prosecution that could be used to
effectively deter non-compliance.
The report also
considered other actors that had the potential to influence and improve
en forcement, including analysis of the role Competent Person Scheme Operators
play in ensuring compliance with Part P.
The central aim of the report was to gather data on
enforcement in a subject area of public interest for which only small studies
and anecdotal evidence have previously been available. It also aims to provide recommendations
on how enforcement of Part P could be improved, including:
- giving local authorities greater powers, such as the ability to
issue on-the-spot fines, fixed monetary penalties or stop notices to those
responsible for sub-standard work
- requiring electrical installers to report on dangerous
situations found as gas installers are currently required to do
- bringing DCLG, LABC and Competent Person Scheme
Operators together to discuss whether agreement on how and when referrals to the Building Control Departments
of local authorities should be used by scheme operators and how the local authority should
act on the information
- suggesting that Government could look into
making it a legal requirement for all electrical work which falls under Part P
of the Building Regulations to be carried out by a registered, competent
electrical installer
- considering the implementation of a
Local
Government Transparency Scheme
, where local authority Building Control
departments could name and shame those responsible for non-compliant electrical
work.
All of the recommendations within the report were based
on the principles of encouraging cooperation between industry, Government and
local authorities and proposing solutions that take account of and seek to
remove the obstacles to effective enforcement.
A summary of the report is available to download at www.electricalsafetyroundtable.co.uk/downloads.aspx
and the full report can be requested by email from info@electricalsafetyroundtable.co.uk
All enquiries relating to the report
should be sent to: info@electricalsafetyroundtable.co.uk