Regulation of electricians: consultation analysis

4. A regulatory approach

If any new legislation is brought forward by the Scottish Government it needs to be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and must relate to devolved matters alone. The two areas for possible regulation considered were protection of title for "electrician" and the regulation of electrical work, both of which are likely to be within the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

Q3. Are there any legislative changes apart from protection of title or regulation of electrical work that would have a similar impact that the Scottish Government should explore?

A total of 59 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. Many respondents felt that no other legislative changes would have a similar impact. However, many respondents made suggestions for other legislative changes that could be made. These included:

• work on a building should only be carried out by a qualified electrician, meaning that it should be a criminal offence to carry out work of a specified nature on the electrical supply and services to a building unless qualified to a relevant standard;
• a scheme similar to Gas Safe;
• SJIB gold electricians grade card needs to be given proper legal status akin to the Gas Safe register;
• make membership of a trade organisation compulsory;
• a new single, consumer-focused register, of registered electricians and electrical businesses;
• merchants, suppliers and online retailers could only sell to qualified and competent people.

Q4. What measures would be essential to make protection of title or regulation of electrical work effective?

A total of 60 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. A wide range of suggestions were put forward. These included:

• a register of approved electrical contractors and staff (similar to Gas Safe register);
• a single register based on the existing SJIB model;
• one governing body for the electrical trade;
• having same checks in place as SELECT and NICEIC already use;
• individual practicing electrical work should have served a recognised apprenticeship and be registered with a governing or trade body;
• proper oversight of the regulations;
• some kind of trade mark enforced by trading standards;
• criminal prosecution and specifically appointed watchdog;
• ban all electrical works carried out by the unqualified;
• any system for determining competence should be based on organisational requirements, with the onus put on the organisation to employ qualified and competent people. This is because consumers enter agreements with businesses and not individuals.

Q5. Would both protection of title and regulation of electrical work be required or would only one be necessary?

A total of 59 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. The vast majority of respondents thought that both protection of title and regulation of electrical work were required, with a number noting that both sit together.

A small number of respondents thought that only protection of title was required while a small number of respondents thought that only regulation of electrical work was required.

Q6. Where measures, for example relating to consumer protection, could not be put on a legal footing, would this weaken the effectiveness of introducing regulations?

A total of 57 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. The thoughts of respondents were evenly divided. Some thought that effective legislation on protection of title and regulation of electrical work would be sufficient to provide protection for consumers. One respondent commented that consumer protection measures already exist in UK legislation.

However, other respondents felt that consumers required additional protection to ensure that work would be carried out safely.

Q7. How should "electrician" or "electrical work" be defined in any regulations in order to prevent unnecessary restrictions on workers, reflect the current wide variety of activities and take into account possible future development due to advances in technology?

A total of 59 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. A wide range of suggestions were put forward. In relation to "electrician" these included:

• current SJIB Grade (ECS) cards have various levels of electricians, these should be used to define different electrician activities and competencies;
• qualified and continual training/ refresh;
• a recognised apprenticeship of at least 4 years;
• either City & Guilds, HNC, degree or equivalent electrical training that ensures the person carrying out the electrical work understands the need the need to follow the building regulations;
• something similar to the Gas Safe scheme and have different modules depending on the work arena and type of work persons carry out;
• an operative qualified with a minimum SVQ level 3 in electrical installations, and be up to date with the current version of the IEE wiring regulations and must also be qualified in inspection and testing.

In relation to "electrical work" these included:

• the design, manufacture, sale, distribution, installation, maintenance, repair and renewal of all kinds of electrical installations, equipment and appliances and ancillary activities undertaken and used in domestic and non-domestic buildings;
• any works that fall under the scope of BS 7671.

One respondent thought that this was a complex and huge area of industry and would require detailed analysis from industry bodies.

Q8. How would administration and enforcement of regulations be carried out and financed?

A total of 60 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. A wide range of suggestions were put forward. In relation to finance these included:

• members would pay an annual registration fee and fee per registered employee (similar to Gas Safe etc.);
• by the government;
• the current CSCS and registration scheme for electricians could be extended with additional contributions paid for membership by individuals and companies;
• from court fines for those found guilty of misleading the public.

In relation to enforcement these included:

• HSE/Police Scotland;
• the governing bodies setting up a department that the public can contact if they do not receive the correct documents following electrical works;
• by prosecution – the Procurator Fiscal receiving reports from Trading Standards, the HSE or the police.

Q9. Would introducing new statutory measures help in the enforcing of existing consumer protection and health & safety legislation? If so, would that be a sufficient justification in itself for legislation?

A total of 60 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. The vast majority of respondents thought that introducing new statutory measures would help in the enforcing of existing legislation and that this would be a sufficient justification in itself for legislation. For example, one respondent commented that it would improve standards overall, while another thought that more statutory measures would deter rogue traders from doing electrical work that they are unqualified to do.

Another respondent thought that new statutory measures would have the knock-on effect of improving consumer protection but also would allow consumers to demonstrate in civil courts additional grounds to assist in claiming rectification work or compensation.

A small number of respondents did not feel that introducing new statutory measures would help. For example, one respondent thought it could be counterproductive as driving up costs may encourage consumers to carry out work beyond their skill levels.

Q10. How should any new statutory measures interact with existing regulations?

A total of 57 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. A wide range of suggestions were put forward. These included:

• all statutory work carried out to BS 7671;
• need to tie in with the HASAWA 1974, EAWR 1989, DSEAR, Building Regs etc;
• it should follow a similar model to gas engineers;
• any new statutory measures should not replace or greatly change the existing regulations, they should work in combination with them;
• new statutory measures should be built upon existing regulations for example in terms of building regulations;
• be merged and become one legislation with regular updates through regulation separating domestic from commercial and industrial.

Q11. If regulation is introduced, what should the industry do to support those who will need to upskill to meet the new requirements?

A total of 60 respondents provided commentary in response to this question. A wide range of suggestions were put forward. These included:

• grants should be made available to upskill employees (or money made available from the likes of the new apprenticeship levy etc.);
• investment in further education to allow support of local contractors and workers who wish to upskill;
• industry should provide support schemes for re-training and upskilling;
• there is already a solid framework of training providers and places of further and higher education offering adult vocational qualifications;
• the industry already operates a scheme to assist. The SJIB's Crediting Electrotechnical Competence (CEC) Scheme allows those who hold partial qualifications/and or experience to apply to be graded as an electrician;
• this should be the responsibility of those that need to do it.