What is Part P

In May 2003 the Government announced that it would introduce a new Part to the Building Regulations, Part P, which would bring domestic electrical installation work in England and Wales under the legal framework of the Building Regulations.
For the first time it would place a legal requirement for safety upon electrical installation work in dwellings. Part P could only be introduced in law when self-certification schemes were in place to ensure competency of the work undertaken. Such schemes are now in place.
Firms registered with an authorised Competent Person Scheme for Part P are able to self-certify that their electrical installation work complies with Building Regulations and, thus, will not have to notify or be subject to inspection by Building Control bodies.

Part P places two requirements:
  1. Design, installation, inspection and testing of electrical installations
    2. Reasonable provision shall be made in the design, installation, inspection and testing of electrical installations in order to protect persons from fire or injury.
  2. Sufficient information shall be provided so that persons wishing to operate, maintain or alter an electrical installation can do so with reasonable safety.
In addition, electrical installation work must comply with the Building Regulations in general. Such requirements include those placed by:
  • Part A - Structure
  • Part B - Fire Safety
  • Part C - Site preparation and resistance to moisture
  • Part E - Resistance to the passage of sound
  • Part F - Ventilation
  • Part L - Conservation of Fuel and Power
  • Part M - Access to and use of buildings
It is a legal requirement for all work on fixed electrical installations in dwellings and associated buildings to comply with relevant standards. The relevant current UK standard is BS 7671: 2008, 'Requirements for electrical installations' (The IEE Wiring Regulations 17th Edition). BS 7671 covers requirements for design, installation, inspection, testing, verification and certification.

Part P applies to following types of electrical work:
  • In a dwelling
  • In the common parts of buildings serving one or more dwellings, but excluding power supplies to lifts
  • In a building that receives its electricity from a source located within or shared with a dwelling, and
  • In a garden or in or on land associate with a building where the electricity supply is from a source located within or shared with a dwelling

The term dwelling includes houses, maisonettes and flats. It also applies to electrical installations in business premises that share an electricity supply with dwellings, such as shops and public houses with a flat above.
Part P applies to electrical installations that operate at voltages not exceeding 1000 V a.c.

Self-certification benefits the householder because by using a Competent Person they do not have to pay building control fees or submit a building notice. In addition, householders have the important reassurance that by using a Competent Person, they are using a company that has been independently assessed and certified as competent to carry out the work.
In addition, all authorised Competent Persons schemes are required to give the customers of their registered installer firms the opportunity to purchase an INSURANCE backed warranty against the risk that the work carried out does not comply with the Building Regulations.

For the firm registered with a Competent Person Scheme, notifying the work to building control is done through their scheme provider. The contractor provides the details of the work done to the scheme provider who then notifies the local building control department and issues a building compliance certificate to the householder.
There are a few competent person self-certification scheme providers, like: BRE Global LTD, BSI Product Services, Elecsa Ltd, Napit Certification Ltd, NICEIC Group Ltd and others. For more information see www.theiet.org, www.elecsa.org.uk or type 'Competent Person Scheme Part P' in any search engine.