Being registered.............

[partplonker]

Building Regs are Statutory, and can result in a criminal prosecution, if they are not complied with. Are there many public cases of BC taking people to Court for non compliance with Part P?

Googling around, I can only find the odd isolated case here and there where bathroom fitters and builders have been prosecuted, but really not very many considering the legislation is 17 years old.

I did find a stat that said between 2011 and 2013, 72% of English local authorities didn't even attempt to prosecute anyone for non-compliance under Part P and there was only 1 successful prosecution in the whole country. Presumably due to the cost and time involved in prosecuting people. https://www.napit.org.uk/pdf/NAPIT-Campaigns-Infographic-Building-Regulations-Enforcement-Part-P.pdf

It would seem like compliance with Part P is barely enforced. In the cases I did find, it was noted each time how substandard the work was and there were multiple counts of non-compliance for each defendant. So the people who got prosecuted were doing a lot of both non-compliant and dangerous work.

My takeaway is that if you don't do crap work and you don't do much of it, you can probably get away with it! (not that you should of course)

 

[pc1966]

So the people who got prosecuted were doing a lot of both non-compliant and dangerous work.

My takeaway is that if you don't do crap work and you don't do much of it, you can probably get away with it! (not that you should of course)

That kind of covers what is wrong with the whole "Part P" aspect, but also to some small degree that is is working. Sort of!

 

[brianmoooore]

Building Regs are Statutory, and can result in a criminal prosecution, if they are not complied with.

Quite correct,, but failing to apply for planning permission is not an offence.
As long as work is done in full compliance with the building regs, very little is going to happen, especially if four years have passed.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

The home owner has the ultimate responsibility that Building Regs are complied with, not the contractor.

We sold our house in 2018. There's a signed legal document, which amongst other things, asks if you've had any electrical work carried out on the property since 2005. If so it asks you to provide certification, which includes compliance certificate if applicable. The home owner can of course lie, but it is a signed legal document.

If notification is not carried out, thats none compliance with Building Regs, which may put off prospective buyers, it might not. As some said, you can buy Indemnity Insurance in such cases. However, Indemnity Insurance, only covers you from legal action from a Building Control, it doesn't actually cover you from putting things right. There is a time limit on prosecution by BC, I believe.

Building Regs are Statutory, and can result in a criminal prosecution, if they are not complied with. Are there many public cases of BC taking people to Court for non compliance with Part P? I've not heard of any. But it is the law, any with anything such as, break it and you have to face the consequences. As said, not a good business model.

That, is an interesting and informative reply. Thanks Midwest.

 

[partplonker]

That kind of covers what is wrong with the whole "Part P" aspect, but also to some small degree that is is working. Sort of!

I suppose so. I would add that in all cases, the punishment received was a fine of between £3k and £8k depending on how egregious the offence.

The only person I've ever heard of going to prison for dodgy electrical work was that bloke who installed lighting outside his pub and killed a young child (and obviously it was commercial so not Part P anyway). David Savery did a video about it. If I remember right, the lights weren't earthed properly, there was a fault leading them to be live and they were within reach of metal railings and the circuit was fed from an old Wylex fuseboard with no RCD. Besides all that, the pub was a complete deathtrap and this guy had bypassed the meter to put a cherry on top.

 

[Midwest]

Quite correct,, but failing to apply for planning permission is not an offence.
As long as work is done in full compliance with the building regs, very little is going to happen, especially if four years have passed.

I would suggest that failing to comply with Part P (notification etc), is not failing to apply for planning permission. Therefore it would be a criminal offence. Happy to be corrected on that point.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I would suggest that failing to comply with Part P (notification etc), is not failing to apply for planning permission. Therefore it would be a criminal offence. Happy to be corrected on that point.

Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party now call THIS a Wine and Cheese Board Party

 

[LukeD]

I would suggest that failing to comply with Part P (notification etc), is not failing to apply for planning permission. Therefore it would be a criminal offence. Happy to be corrected on that point.

It seems very little is a Criminal offence these days ...no one is Policing the trades.The councils dont want to know . the gas safe people useless . Even British gas dont want to get involved with cowboys fitting boilers. They just turn up and turn the gas off. No follow up from anyone

 

[Midwest]

Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party now call THIS a Wine and Cheese Board Party

You’ve a point there.

 

[nicebutdim]

You’ve a point there.

Asides from being entirely irrelevant to the thread, he actually doesn't.

 

[Midwest]

Asides from being entirely irrelevant to the thread, he actually doesn't.

Oh dear.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I think politics, religion and gender should be kept out of all threads and posts.

 

[UNG]

I think politics, religion and gender should be kept out of all threads and posts.

So how would we describe male and female plugs and sockets then

 

[partplonker]

So how would we describe male and female plugs and sockets then

aren't sockets always female and plugs always male, so the sexy qualifier is redundant?

 

[pc1966]

aren't sockets always female and plugs always male, so the sexy qualifier is redundant?

Not always, as some treat plug as the cable bit and socket as the fixed bit, and either can have pin (male) or receptacle (female) style connections.

Also you get some hermaphrodite connectors as well, but only one I know of (having used them years ago) was the obsolete General Radio type:

GR connector - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And you get some that can be either the screwed on bit, or the one being screwed on as your fancy takes you, sometimes referred to as "genderless" such as the old-ish (and very expensive) APC7 sort:

APC-7 connector - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[7029 dave]

I still call 20mm couplers "socket"

 

[partplonker]

Not always, as some treat plug as the cable bit and socket as the fixed bit, and either can have pin (male) or receptacle (female) style connections.

Also you get some hermaphrodite connectors as well, but only one I know of (having used them years ago) was the obsolete General Radio type:

GR connector - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And you get some that can be either the screwed on bit, or the one being screwed on as your fancy takes you, sometimes referred to as "genderless" such as the old-ish (and very expensive) APC7 sort:

APC-7 connector - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yeah, anything goes in Band I, but I can't think of anything Band II where that isn't the case? Otherwise you'd have a plug with live, touchable pins!

 

[UNG]

I still call 20mm couplers "socket"

Do you use male bushes with them

 

[7029 dave]

Do you use male bushes with them

yup

 

[pc1966]

Yeah, anything goes in Band I, but I can't think of anything Band II where that isn't the case? Otherwise you'd have a plug with live, touchable pins!

All that matters is you can't touch that, as MC Hammer put it. Usually that means the source of power is connected to the female part, and its diameter (and related insulation) is below finger penetrating size.

You could have a male pin with surrounding insulation sheath tube that makes it untouchable, but for mains use you are down to using the usual suspects (country-specific, or the more global IEC & commando style, etc).