"Owain" wrote in message
...
"N. Thornton" wrote
| So does this mean all the domestic sparks that dont partake in
| the part p schemes now are working illegally? I suspect if govt
| starts prosecuting there would soon be a pretty big backlash.

From whom? The trade organisations and consumer groups would be united in
wanting to clamp down on 'cowboy' tradespeople, and many householders will
also be glad of a way of identifying 'reputable' (hahahaha) tradespeople.

Even the articles I've seen in DIY and self-building magazines don't
question the legislation (or even explain the exemptions and limitations
of
the regulations). But even the serious magazines seem to be becoming more
'lifestyle' with "here are some pictures of some pretty switches and
sockets
you can ask your electrician to install for you".

Owain


I've been following this thread with great interest, and I must admit that
my feelings about this legislation are a mixture of rage and depression. I'm
a pretty serious DIY-er and have done all my own wiring over many years,
taking care to adhere to IEEE regs. As it happens I'm in the middle of a
pretty major (kitchen, as it happens!) project at present. I have a number
of questions/comments either relating to points made here or in other parts
of the thread, so if it's OK I'll just list the ones at the front of my
mind:

1. Politics. I'm a classical floating voter so I am NOT trying to grind any
political axes here, but I did E-mail the Tories asking them what their
attitude to Part P was. Wait a little while (it was over Christmas to be
fair..) and I've got a slightly arse-covering reply that comes out strongly
for making a bonfire of unnecessary regulations as soon as they get in, as
follows:
" Thank you for your email. I agree with you that this is a costly
and meddlesome piece of regulation. It is on our list items for
consideration for repeal/amendment in our first year in office. I will
be announcing the likely contents of our first deregulation bill nearer
the time of the election. Thank you for writing to us and confirming our
view that regulation is now over the top and often damaging.
Yours sincerely John Redwood"

I guess if anyone is ever to repeal this, it would be the Tories, but
nothing is certain in this world, certainly not their winning the next
election.....

2. A public stink? Who knows - it could go either way really. ISTRM a
statistic quoted early on in this (?) thread that last year there were 2M
'paid' domestic electrical jobs done in the UK, and 1M DIY ones. (I may have
got the definitions wrong here, but my impression was that all tradesmen &
cowboy work was lumped into the 'paid' category.) What % of that 1M will be
seriously ****ed? - assuming that there are multiple jobs in there and so
on - my guess would be 10-25%. How many upset people does it take to make a
stink? - it really all depends on whether they have a voice and are
articulate or not. The problem here is that we are all individuals and not
represented by any official body with a voice.

The media might get hold of it, but given their generally trivial and
brainless approach to this sort of domestic topic I don't hold out many
hopes. There are two obvious and opposite lines of attack:
i) Some poor old dear sitting freezing in her house because she can't get
anyone to wire up her boiler because no-one will touch Part P in her
locality. Would require some well informed and joined up research (!)
I) The guy in court. If he had done an A1 job and a particularly diligent
local council was prosecuting him on principle, then this could be good; but
more likely it will be a guy who has done a bloody awful job, someone got a
shock, the council prosecutes and everyone applauds and says how jolly good
Part P is.


3. The rebel. I'd like to get a better understanding of the powers in play
here, so here are a few questions:

i) What rights of access does yer local BCO have on private property? Are
they the same as the police where - with suitable paperwork completed - they
can insist on entry, or are they the same as - say - a planning department,
who have to be invited on by the householder? (Of course, if they are
invited on for another job, there is a risk the whole can of worms might
open up, so a prospective rebel needs to do some seriously joined up
thinking and very good work...)
ii) Sale time and sellers packs. So I eventually sell this place and get all
these surveys done, and the electrical one finds something (I'd be
surprised, but you never know surveyors) that raises an issue. Do I have to
fix this before I am allowed to sell - or do I just have to negotiate with
my buyer saying 'OK, there's this item on the report, say £500 off for you
getting an electrician to sort it out..'?
iii) Means of detection. Unless I'm missing something the private
householder (as opposed to the cowboy) has very little risk of being
detected indeed. The only routes seem to be either by BCO visit (i above),
by sale (bit late by then) or by getting it wrong and having an incident of
some nature (fire/shock) which draws official attention (there is the
insurance dimension here as well, but that's another story). Am I right?


Quietly seething

Tim