Gas Safe news

I’m not often lost for words (just ask my colleagues). But it happened when I interviewed trainee gas engineer Saera James last month. And afterwards, I was left with a real sense of hope, especially during these difficult times.

Saera and her gas engineer husband Mat lived through one of the worst experiences you could imagine. But they didn’t get in touch to tell us about that: they did it because they wanted to thank publicly the people who have helped them and their business to recover and then grow. You can read their story on page 12.

It’s got us thinking a lot about ‘giving back’. We know you’re a big-hearted bunch, and we know how some of you have been helping fellow gas engineers and colleagues in need. If you’d like to thank someone who’s helped you, or if you’ve helped someone, please let us know.

Also in this issue, you can read more about the government’s plans to ‘green’ the UK and how it could affect you, and we answer some of your questions about HyDeploy’s work on hydrogen blending this year at Winlaton in the North East of England.

Gas Safe Register, PO Box 6804, Basingstoke, RG24 4NB.

Email: enquiries@gassaferegister.co.uk, register@gassaferegister.co.uk or technical@gassaferegister.co.uk Managing editor: Scott Darroch scott.darroch@gassaferegister.co.uk Editor: Nicki Shearer editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk News: Jennie Ward news@registeredgasengineer.co.uk Publisher: Peter McCreary publisher@registeredgasengineer.co.uk Technical consultants: Gary Aymes, Carl Banister, David Smith, Jonathan Stirling Production: Mark Turpin Advertising enquiries only: Ian Carter ian@rgemagazine.co.uk

The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Gas Safe Register. The publishers will accept an advertisement or other inserted material only on the condition that the advertiser warrants that such advertisement does not in any way infringe copyright or contravene the provisions of the Trade Descriptions Act. All copy is subject to the approval of the publisher, who reserves the right to refuse, amend, withdraw or otherwise deal with advertisements submitted to it at its absolute discretion and without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice. ABC membership approved 19 March, 2009. Calls to phone numbers starting 084 and 087 cost up to 7p per minute plus your service provider’s charge.

Registered Gas Engineer is written, designed and published by The Team on behalf of Gas Safe Register. 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ

CIRCULATION: Jan-Dec 2020 77,332

Many registered businesses will soon be receiving their invitation to renew registration. A little planning can make it a smooth process.

If you’ve got your registration renewal coming up soon, there are some simple steps you can take to make it’s as straightforward as possible.

You’ll receive your invitation to renew eight weeks before your registration expires. If you manage your account online, you’ll receive your invitation via email. Make sure that all your details held by Gas Safe are up to date – once you’ve logged into your account, you’ll see an Alert that your registration is due for renewal.

If you don’t manage your account online, you’ll receive your invitation in the post with an invoice for payment to return to Gas Safe Register.

You can also renew over the phone using the automated service 24 hours a day on 0800 408 5577. Make sure you’ve got your Gas Safe four-digit PIN and your registration number to hand before you call.

If you’re going to change your trading title, please make sure you request this with Gas Safe Register before you renew. This is so that your ID card(s) and registration certificate will have your new company name, if the change can take place.

It’s free to change your trading title, just go online to complete the request or email Register@GasSafeRegister. co.uk and the forms will be sent to you. Don’t leave it too late – the Register needs to carry out additional checks, so make sure you allow enough time.

The HSE and Gas Safe Register have permitted a six-month extension to ACS qualification lifespans to enable you to remain registered if you have been unable to undertake your ACS because of Covid restrictions.

To maintain your registration, you must make sure that you renew your expired ACS qualifications within the following timescales: • If your ACS expired before 1 October 2020 and you were unable to book ACS reassessment, you can remain on the Register for up to six months from the expiry date on your ACS certification while you wait for re-assessment. • If your qualifications expired on or after 1 October 2020, you must renew your qualifications by 31 March 2021. • If your qualifications expire after 31 March 2021, you must renew your ACS by the expiry date on your certificate.

Many assessment centres are prioritising gas engineers

Application fee £190.00

Non-web registration

£157.00 Web registration £137.00 Notification reprint (telephone) £3.50 Notification reprint (web) £2.20 Operative fee £25.98 Replacement card £15.00 Updated card £10.00 Work notification (telephone) £3.50 Work notification (web) £2.20 Consumer notification reprint £5.00

Did you know you can now recycle your expired ID card? Following suggestions from engineers, you’ll now receive a Freepost envelope inside your registration renewals pack. Just pop your old card into the envelope and return it to Gas Safe for secure recycling. Note: Gas Safe is also reducing the use of plastic, and card holders are no longer provided with your ID card.

whose competences have expired or nearly expired, but reduced capacity due to social distancing requirements means that many are extremely busy, so don’t leave it to the last minute to book.

If you’re not sure when your qualifications expire, sign into your online account, then choose Business Details and Download Engineers.

You can stay up to date with the latest guidance from Gas Safe Register at:

9 out of 10 businesses renew their Gas Safe registration online, saving them time and money – and helping to protect the environment too.

If you haven’t got an online account, it’s easy to set up: just call Customer Services on 0800 408 5577.

What had a digital reach of more than 73 million and encouraged nearly 89,000 people to visit Gas Safe Register’s website in just one week? You can find out in the Gas Safety Week Report 2020.

Thousands of supporters came together in different ways in 2020 to promote important gas safety messages, despite the pandemic.

You can find out about supporters’ activities, and how Gas Safe Register amplified gas safety messages to help keep the nation Gas Safe when you download the report at:

A boom in home moving and improving, combined with a pandemic squeeze on finances and a lack of understanding about insurance policies, risks jeopardising people’s health and wealth in 2021.

New research from Gas Safe Register shows that nearly half of householders (49 per cent) say the pandemic has made them thriftier, prompting 45 per cent to DIY rather than relying on qualified, legally registered professionals for improvements and renovations.

However, these efforts to save money could prove more costly: almost 90 per cent of the 2,000 householders surveyed did not realise that home renovations can affect their insurance cover, and many couldn’t identify some of the most common issues that could invalidate policies, leading to future claims being rejected. These include: • Using faulty home appliances (61 per cent were unaware) • DIY damage caused by improvements such as such as relocating a gas boiler, building a conservatory or similar (50 per cent) • Not using a certified tradesperson for gas and electrical work or repairs in the home (48 per cent). More than half of those surveyed said they had never read their home insurance policy in full. However, for safety reasons, gas, electrical and plumbing works must be carried out by a registered professional. Tackling these types of job can invalidate home insurance and warranties, leaving people significantly out of pocket if something goes wrong.

To help these millions of home-movers and improvers stay safe and save money, Gas Safe Register has teamed up with TV personality and DIY expert Jo Behari as part of its Safety Starts at Home campaign.

Jo Behari says: “Before deciding to embark on any work, I urge all homeowners to ensure that the tradespeople they hire are properly qualified to safely and legally carry out the work.

“As with our health, prevention is better than cure when it comes to gas safety and keeping you covered for the unexpected. Having your gas appliances checked annually by a registered engineer means you won’t risk invalidating your insurance by continuing to use appliances that have developed faults.”

Jo regularly appears on Channel 4’s popular Steph’s Packed Lunch, and last month on the programme re-iterated the importance of using a registered gas engineer. She told viewers: “Check your boiler and, if you have issues, make sure you use a Gas Safe registered engineer to fix them.” Not doing so, she warned, could invalidate insurance as well as being illegal.

WiFi Inside

During the lockdowns in place across the UK, adjustments have been made to Gas Safe Register’s inspection process so that they can continue while minimising face-to-face contact. Where possible, Gas Safe Register will use video to carry out a remote technical assessment: the outcome of this will determine whether a face-to-face inspection is needed. Where customers make a complaint or raise a concern, Gas Safe will make an initial assessment over the phone, using video calling to support the assessment. This information will be used to confirm the next steps and whether an inspection visit to the property will be required.

Following the publication of Liquid Gas UK CoP32, revised Liquid Gas UK Consumer Guidance Sheets and the withdrawal of Parts 1 and 2 of BS 5482, administrative revisions have been made to the Technical Bulletins below. No technical changes have been made: • TB 011 The use of clips to secure vapour phase LPG hose and tubing to BS EN 16436-1 and BS EN 16436-2 to end fittings • TB 040 Meter Box – Installation pipe sleeving • TB 042 Repairs following reported gas escapes • TB 053 Modular boiler installations – competency requirements and applicable Industry Standards • TB 146 Consumer Guidance Sheet (CGS) 05 – LPG Hoses and

Tubing for Use with Vapour Offtake. The following Technical Bulletins on LPG have been withdrawn because the guidance is contained in other guidance documents: • TB 072 Separation distances between LPG cylinders and tanks and domestic oil tanks • TB 079 BS 5482-1: 2005 (LPG Installations) – additional guidance • TB 080 Changes to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) regulator standards • TB 134 Gas tightness testing of LPG service pipework, installation pipework and appliances in holiday homes, caravans and motor homes. You can read and download all Gas Safe Register Technical Bulletins by logging into your online account at:

Wolseley UK is being sold by its parent Ferguson to private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. The £308 million disposal was due to be complete by the end of January 2021.

Ferguson chief executive Kevin Murphy said: “Wolseley is a leading heating and plumbing distribution business in the UK and we are confident the business will benefit from working with its new owners, who will develop the business further by focusing on continued opportunities in the industry.”

Wolseley UK trading profits were £5.8 million in the year ended 31 July 2020 and revenue was £1,373 million. Gas engineers must continue to prioritise personal and public safety, says the CIPHE.

Membership secretary Tim Sainty says it’s particularly important to remain vigilant to continue to protect your own health as well as those of your customers when you are carrying essential work.

“The advice from the CIPHE mirrors government guidance,” says Tim, “and remains largely the same as at the start of the pandemic. We are supportive of the fact that plumbing and heating repairs and maintenance work can continue, provided that the tradesperson and customer is well and have no coronavirus symptoms.

“Do check with clients that they do not have a positive diagnosis, are not self-isolating, or displaying symptoms of COVID-19 before attending the premises.

“Even if everyone in the household is healthy, social distancing is still essential and we reiterate the Public Health England guidelines for maintaining social distancing, with a 2m distance from any household occupants. The wearing of a face covering indoors when working and regular 20-second handwashing are also advised.

“Work should not be carried out in any household isolating due to coronavirus, unless it is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household, such as life-threatening or other emergency plumbing or repairs. Guidance should be provided to the household to ensure that no contact is made between the engineer and the occupants.”

New BEIS Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng last month wrote an open letter to people working in the construction sector, which included confirmation of the government’s position on tradespeople working during the lockdown.

In the letter, he said: “Firms and tradespeople in manufacturing, including supply chains, should continue to operate during this national lockdown.

“I would also like to make it clear that where it is essential to travel or to stay in accommodation, whether to get to your work or for the purposes of carrying out your work, those in the industry are able to do so.

“It is vital that manufacturing continues and I want to reassure you that the government values the contribution your sector is making.

“To help ensure that it is safe for you to operate while carrying out your work, the government and devolved administrations continue to update their safer working guidance, which can be found on Gov.uk.”