Worthing Borough Council

32 Part P - Electrical Safety

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planning@worthing.gov.uk

Guidance Note 32. Part P - Electrical Safety

From 1st January 2005 the design, installation, inspection and testing of electrical installations will be controlled under the Building Regulations.

Part P applies to dwellings, common parts of a building serving dwellings, and buildings, which are ancillary to dwellings, such as sheds, garages and greenhouses.

Minor work, such as the provision of a socket-outlet or a light switch on an existing circuit will not need the involvement of a Building Control authority (although there are some exceptions for high risk areas such as kitchen and bathrooms).

All work that involves adding a new circuit to a dwelling; electrical work in kitchens and bathrooms, or in 'special locations' (see table) is controlled.

There are two ways of complying with Part P.

1. 
Use a competent electrician who is registered with a Self Certification scheme, in which case a Building Regulation application will not be required.  The electrician is required to notify their Self-certification body regarding each installation they carry out.  We would strongly encourage the use of electricians/installers who are registered with a competent persons scheme. Why use a registered installer:

• Members of schemes can deal with all the new rules for you.
• Members are qualified to carry out electrical work.
• Members will give you a certificate to confirm their works follows the new rules.
• You will not have to pay Building Control charges.
• You will have the option of taking out an insurance-backed guarantee for the wor
• You will have access to a formal complaints procedure if you are not happy with the work.         
  

2.
Submit a Building Regulation application and pay the appropriate charge to your Local Authority and either:

A. 
Use an electrician that is registered with a recognised trade body such as NICEIC, ECA or NAPIT as a competent electrician (but is not registered under a Self Certification scheme).  The electrician will be able to issue a design, installation and test certificate to BS 7671: Requirements for Electrical Installations.  The Building Control authority will accept the certificate as evidence that the work complies.  A list of electricians competent to inspect and test electrical installations will be available on the internet at labc-services.co.uk.

B. 
Where the work is carried out by an unregistered electrician, or is a DIY installation the amount of inspecting and testing needed is for the Building Control body to decide. Based on the nature and extent of the electrical work it may be necessary to submit a wiring diagram to accompany the notice.

Notification of electrical installations must be given to the local Building Control authority before work commences, unless the work is to be undertaken by a person registered with a Part P self certification scheme.

Whether, or not the work is notifiable is dependent on the nature of the electrical installation and its location within a dwelling.

Competent Persons Scheme

There are currently five full scope schemes in operation where an electrician can carry out any type of work, and from the 1st April there will be five defined scope schemes for other tradesmen that carry out a limited amount of electrical work, e.g. gas fitters, kitchen fitters, alarm installers and garage door fitters.

Building Regulation Applications

If you intend to submit a full plans application for notifiable electrical work we will require a note on the plans which states:

"Confirmation is required that all electrical work will meet the requirements of Part P (Electrical Safety) and will be designed, installed, inspected and tested by a person competent to do so.  Prior to completion an appropriate BS 7671 electrical installation certificate must be issued for the work, a copy of which should be made available to the Local Authority".

Building Regulation Charges

The fee for notifiable electrical work will be based on the cost of the work in Schedule 3 of the Guidance note for charges.  If the electrical work forms part of a larger scheme already subject to Building Regulation control, e.g. a kitchen extension, the charge will be included in the overall charge based on the appropriate schedule for that work.

Useful Guidance

Information on the New Part P can be found on the following web sites. Some useful links are included below:

    www.eca.co.uk

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www.elecsa.org.uk

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www.napit.org.uk

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www.iee.org

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www.niceic.org.uk

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www.labc-services.co.uk  

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