A survey of British homeowners has found that the majority are not aware of Part P. Even more startling is their admission that the new law will not stop them from undertaking electrical work.

The implementation of electrical safety into the Building Regulations in the shape of Part P has gone unnoticed by an amazing 61% of British householders, according to a survey conducted by British Gas. And, more worryingly, 60% of those canvassed said that the new law would not stop them carrying out electrical work themselves or asking an unqualified friend to help.

These startling figures come in the wake of an initiative by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to put Part P in the public domain. This saw leaflets launching The new rules for electrical safety in the home sent to consumer media sources on 16 December 2004. The initiative had the support of Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Tong, whose daughter’s death last year was attributed to poor electrical work.

The British Gas report indicates that there is much work to be done to raise public awareness of Part P, even if the electrical industry is ready to comply with the regulations. Separate research carried out by the NICEIC has found that the majority of people are completely ignorant of the state of electrical wiring in their homes. Over 40% do not know the age of the wiring and more than half do not know how often domestic wiring should be checked by a qualified electrician.

On 1 January 2005 over 10 000 businesses employing more than 20 000 operatives had registered with the NICEIC Domestic Installer Scheme, enabling them to self-certify compliance with Part P. In the period 17 November to 16 December 2004 over 3900 requests were received for the NICEIC Domestic Installer Scheme application packs. BRE Certification, backed by the ECA, has also received nearly 700 applications for self-certification.

Peter Williams Electrical has completed what is claimed to be the first domestic electrical installation to be notified under Part P. The firm is registered with BRE Certification. “Registration was fast and straightforward,” said Peter Williams. “Part P will help to ensure that domestic electrical installations are carried out by someone who is technically competent.”

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor