PART 'P' - Electrical Safety Explained
New Electrical Safety Regulation for Safer Homes
A new Regulation for electrical safety, which will make homes safer for households and DIY enthusiasts, was announced on the 29 June 2004 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Each year on average 10 people die and about 750 are seriously injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home. The aim will be to reduce the risk by bringing electrical safety in the home within the scope of the Building Regulations for the first time.
As of 1 January 2005 electrical work in dwellings should comply with Part P requirements and be carried out by persons who are competent to do the work. Minor jobs like replacing sockets and light switches will not be affected, but anyone thinking of, for example, adding new circuits to their house will have to get Building Control involved.
Building Control Surveyors will be looking to inspect the electrical installation before it is covered, and will need evidence that a competent person has tested the installation before a completion certificate for the work can be issued.
The alternative is to get the work carried out by a competent person who is registered with a Part P Self-Certification Scheme.
The Building Regulations Advisory Committee has recommended the NICEIC Approved Contractors for self-certification of notifiable activities.
Below is a list of works that are notifiable to local authority and/or must be completed by a company registered as a "competent person".
| Part 'P' check sheet | Extensions and modifications to circuits | New Circuits |
| Bathrooms | Yes | Yes |
| Bedrooms | No | Yes |
| Bedrooms containing a shower or basin | Yes | Yes |
| Ceiling (over head) heating | Yes | Yes |
| Communal area of flats | Yes | Yes |
| Computer cabling | No | No |
| Conservatories | No | Yes |
| Dining Rooms | No | Yes |
| Down lighters (E.L.V.) non pre-assembled CE marked lights | Yes | Yes |
| Garden - Lighting | Yes | Yes |
| Garden - Power | Yes | Yes |
| Greenhouses | Yes | Yes |
| Halls | No | Yes |
| Integral Garages | No | Yes |
| Kitchen | Yes | Yes |
| Kitchen Diners | Yes | Yes |
| Landings | No | Yes |
| Lounge | No | Yes |
| Remote Buildings | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Garages | Yes | Yes |
| Saunas | Yes | Yes |
| Sheds | Yes | Yes |
| Shower Rooms | Yes | Yes |
| Small scale generators | Yes | Yes |
| Solar power systems | Yes | Yes |
| Stairways | No | Yes |
| Studies | No | Yes |
| Swimming pools | Yes | Yes |
| Telephone cabling | No | No |
| Underfloor heating | Yes | Yes |
| Workshops (remote) | Yes | Yes |