A Working Group
As a result of our lobbying, the Scottish government set up an
“Electricians Working Group” in 2016 to explore the challenge of
ensuring the safety of electrical installations.
In addressing the challenge, the Scottish Government was committed to three key outcomes:
- protecting consumers
- protecting scrupulous traders and creating an inhospitable environment for miscreants
- maintaining an environment that allows competition within the provision of electrical services to thrive
The group met on three occasions but regrettably it proved impossible
to reach a consensus on a way forward. A further meeting of the WG is due to take place on 24th of January which will be chaired by Jamie Hepburn, the Scottish Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills. We hope that the outcome of this meeting will see a positive step in safeguarding the public by introducing protection of Title.
Other political action
Jamie Halcro Johnston, Scottish Conservative and
Unionist MSP for the Highlands and Islands, is planning to lay down a “Motion for
Debate” in the Scottish parliament which will ask Holyrood to:
“Note the calls supporting the principle of the regulation of
electricians and asks the Scottish Government to consider how the
Parliament’s powers over protection of title could be utilised to
reassure the public of the safety of electrical work, in domestic and
non-domestic premises”.
We are hopeful that the debate will achieve cross party consensus and will be debated in Parliament shortly.
The economic case
SELECT commissioned a report from 4-Consulting on the economic impact
of regulating electricians in Scotland. The report estimated that the
“human cost” of faulty electrical work is around £120M per year. It was
also pointed out that regulation would offer an opportunity to grow the
industry by attracting more aspirational entrants, where reward and
reputation is enhanced, and the value of an electrical apprenticeship is
more widely accepted.
The authors cautiously estimated that the net reward to the Scottish economy of regulating the electrical industry would be £58m
Getting the message over
To help raise the profile of our campaign we have undertaken a series
of media events. We have a separate Twitter account to promote the
regulation message, @Regulate_SELECT and we have issued a series of
press releases, which have featured in the national and trade press.
Our most recent action is to provide members with a series of
promotional material to help raise the impact of the regulation message.
We have also created a “Wall of Support“, which shows that our campaign is backed by surveyors, housebuilders, professional bodies and trade unions.
Bodies which have contributed a brick in the Wall include: the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS); the Scottish Association of Landlords; the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group; the Association of Electrical Safety Managers; Energy Action Scotland; BAM Construction; the Scottish Building Federation; the Federation of Master Builders; and the Energy Saving Trust.
