What is Part P?
Part P forms part of the Building Regulations.
The principle of the Building Regulations is to ensure that consistent standards are applied to the construction of buildings including its structure, fire safety, sound insulation, drainage, ventilation and electrical safety.
The Part P requirement is that:
“Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury.”
In short, electrical installations must be safe. Part P of the Building Regulations applies to fixed electrical installations in dwellings (including gardens and shared amenities in blocks of flats, and any building that shares its electricity supply with a dwelling). Many of the typical jobs undertaken by electrical contractors are affected by Part P. Under Part P you should ensure that such works are notified to and inspected by building control bodies. Work needs to be inspected by the local authority Building Control department in order to ensure it complies with the Building Regulations.
A straightforward way of meeting the requirements is to use a contractor who is registered with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC. Competent persons schemes were set up with approval from the government to assess contractors to a common standard. Once contractors have registered with a scheme they can self-certify their work as being compliant with Building Regulations, saving you the time of doing it yourself through the local authority.