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Gas Safe news
FROM THE EDITOR
Comment
The energy price crisis is moving so fast that anything we write now about potential further government support or additional measures to help householders will probably be out of date by the time you read it. But the cost of how the nation will stay warm in their homes this winter has never been a hotter topic.
Whether people have gas boilers or heat pumps, it’s all going to cost a lot more, putting pressure on household budgets in a way that would have seemed unthinkable a couple of years ago.
And although nothing can cushion this impact completely, there are measures that people can take now to improve the efficiency of their heating systems. Updating their controls is one, and in this issue we look at the different ways they can help keep costs down and homes cosy.
Next month, we’ll be focusing on how gas engineers can help keep older boilers working for longer to save strapped-for-cash homeowners the cost of a replacement. If you have any top tips you’d like to share, let us know at: editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk
Nicki Shearer, editor
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: Carl Banister, Stephen Gallagher, Jonathan Palmer Production: Mark Turpin Advertising enquiries only: Ian Carter ian@rgemagazine.co.uk
Additional print subscriptions £25 per year email: wgardiner@circdata.com, Tel 01635 869 868
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.
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 2021 80,070
One of the common queries that gas engineers raise with the Register is: “I re-sat my ACS last week, so why can’t I renew my registration online now?” The answer is that when you sit your ACS exams at your local centre, it can take up to four to five weeks for the paperwork to be processed and uploaded to Gas Safe Register.
Training centres have 10 working days to check and audit your paperwork, which includes carefully checking that every question has been answered correctly, checking that previous certificates and photos are provided and that all forms have been completed correctly. If the training centre identifies any issues at this stage, it may have to contact you in order to correct them. Even something as simple as a missing signature can cause delays.
Once the paperwork has been audited by the training centre, it will post your paperwork to the certification body, which can take a few days, depending on the mail. The certification body also
Are you ready for Gas Safety Week?
12-18 September 2022
Gas Safety Week is nearly here, and it’s not too late for you to get involved and help spread awareness of the importance of gas safety among your customers, friends and family.
This year’s theme is Get in the Know, and the campaign will encourage people to get clued up on the signs and symptoms of unsafe gas appliances in their home – whether they’ve just moved in or have been there for a number of years.
Dion Dublin will be the public face of Gas Safe Register’s campaign. The TV property expert will be teaming up with the Register to champion why it’s never been more important to be gas savvy and will help give people the confidence to ask questions about their gas safety, no matter how silly they may seem.
New research to be launched during the week has found that more than one-third of gas engineers say they see more faulty appliances and gas safety problems in homes where householders are relatively new to the property. They also say they want gas safety to be more of a priority than it is now for all parties involved in the home-moving process. Gas Safe Register will be running advertising on social media, YouTube and Google display ads. It will also share competitions on Facebook.
Gas Safety Week will also be back at the Houses of Parliament on 15 September, with an event hosted by Barry Sheerman MP, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG). You’ll be able to watch it on Gas Safe Register’s Facebook page and the Register will also be live tweeting from the event.
Daily themes on social media
Monday Get in the know about gas safety Tuesday What to consider when buying/selling a property Wednesday Carbon monoxide awareness Thursday Renting a property Friday Avoid illegal cowboys Saturday How to check a registered engineer Sunday Winter safety tips
Using the toolkit
Every day of the week has a different theme, and it’s easy for you to get involved and use and share these themes when you download the Gas Safety Week toolkit.
The free toolkit provides everything you need so that it’s easy to create a fresh and eye-catching social media post every day, including bright images and animations. And there are posters, logos, leaflets articles, factsheets and banners for your website too.
If you’re looking for more ideas about how to get involved, you can sign up for the toolkit at:
www.gassaferegister.co.uk/gas-safety/gas-safety-week
has 10 working days from the day it receives the pack to carry out its audit of the paperwork.
This also includes checking that every question has been answered correctly, checking previous certificates and photos are in place, and that all forms have been completed correctly. Any issues picked up at this stage are highlighted to the training centre, which may have to contact you.
Once the certification body is satisfied with the paperwork, it contacts Gas Safe Register to update your records. Some certification bodies offer a fast-track facility, for a fee, and this will speed up the process – but only when the paperwork reaches the certification body.
Leave enough time
Gas Safe Register’s advice is to make sure that you take these timescales into account and arrange your ACS exams in plenty of time before your qualifications expire. This will help to avoid the situation where you cannot carry out gas work until the paperwork has been processed. Don’t forget that you can re-take your ACS up to six months before they expire and still retain the original expiry date.
Remember to sign your certificate when you receive it and keep it in a safe place. You will need the certificate for your next re-sit or if you add on any qualifications. If you lose the certificates, you will need to obtain copies from the certification body, which will cost you an administration fee and add to your stress levels.
Correction
Last month, in response to the letter from P Edwards “Competent one day, incompetent the next”, Gas Safe Register stated that expiry of a gas engineer’s core qualification would cause the expiry of qualifications linked to it. This should have read: “If the core qualification expires, all qualifications linked to the core qualification are not valid until it has been retaken.”
