Building regulations certification of domestic electrical work : seventh report of session 2013-14, report, together with formal minutes relating to the report

The Communities and Local Government Committee note that the quality of domestic electrical work has improved since some of it was brought within building control eight years ago.

But much more needs to be done to protect people in their homes.

The main mechanism for checking electrical work covered by Part P of the building regulations is satisfactory is certification by a qualified supervisor operating under a Government-approved competent persons scheme.

As long as the qualified supervisor meets competence standards, the person carrying out the work does not necessarily have to be a qualified electrician.

The report calls for competence requirements to be rolled out within five years for all those actually doing electrical work to which Part P applies.

In the interim, it is recommended that there be a limit on the number of notifications that a single qualified supervisor can authorise in a year in order to ensure that they devote enough time to checking each job.

The Government should aim to double public awareness of Part P within two years and aim for an awareness level similar to that of Gas Safe within five years (45%). Additionally, the report calls for more proactive enforcement against those who breach Part P.