Well Pushrod, the cross party DCLG Commons select committee, has made recommendations to DCLG Buildings Division Minister Andrew Stunell MP.
The Minister has a few weeks to reply to the Select Committee, which will be published, the Select Committee can also call ANYONE back to answer additional questions at any point, so it is not over yet, they are still receiving information.
“The Minister, Mr Stunell, told us that the Government believes that standards are being met: “The schemes set themselves standards internally. They do check, they are required to check and there is an overlapping check carried out by the supervisory body”.
The phrase used above, is key to the way the Scams operate, they write their owns rules and regulations, then they are accredited by UKAS as being compliant with those rules. The problem is that they write their own Industry Scams, which are very very profitable.
Conflict of Interest.
40. We take some comfort from what the Minister said but we are not reassured that internal checks will uncover serious conflicts of interests.
“Concern has been raised about the potential conflict of interest that exists in the three approval authorities of the Competent Person Scheme under Part P.
So would that be ECA/ELECSA, NAPIT and ESC/NICEIC then?
“These Scheme operators obtain their finance from the very same companies whose work they judge and they are in competition with each other.
We consider that the Government needs to put stronger controls in place over the Competent Person Scheme, to show that the Scheme is serving the best interests of the safety of the public.”
“The current arrangements need greater independent supervision to offset the pressures to compromise safety standards and actively to seek out conflicts of interest and distortions of the market.”
So conflicts of interest would be?
1. Allowing five day wonders.
2. Deeming people Competent that are NOT Competent under the EAWR.
3. Misleading the Public that the person on the Doorstep is a Competent Person, when they are really a Competent Enterprise with just one Competent Person.
4. Schemes are casual about assessment to make money, while others over assess to make money.
5. The Schemes allow people thrown out of one Scheme to just join another
6. The Schemes have refused to advertise Part P to the Public, because they want to use Electricians money to advertise themselves. Do Electricians trust them to use our money to do this, NO.
Plus many many more.
So the Inquiry has stated in their own parliamentary language that they are NOT happy with the way that the Schemes operate, and that they are not serving the best interests of the Public when it comes to Safety.
There are a number of people on this forum that have been saying that the Schemes have been putting Profit before the Safety of the public for a number of years. So it is good to see this Independent inquiry confirm the facts as Electricians see them.
Sorry for long post, but hope it explains how it works!
