A New Ensuite - 10 - Government Building Regulations - Registered Competent Person - Compliance Certificates

Monday
The 16th day of my ensuite saga. Still not finished. RH is coming back to finish tomorrow with a registered electrical trader to provide the Compliance Certificate, which I definitely do need.

I am now more familiar with the Government legislation than I ever wanted or expected to be. It has been a stressful 2 days. I have several observations.

• The government & local councils have definitely not effectively communicated & informed the public or traders that it is a criminal offence for trades to work without being registered. 
• Traders are unable to issue the certificates for work done in clients houses, which are mandatory, unless they are registered.
• RH phoned round all his mates in the trade & only one of them knew anything about the legislation. I asked a friend who has just had an ensuite done & he didn't either & has not had certificates for any recent work in his house, some of which is substantial.
• Apparently the vetting system for registration is rubbish. 
• It would appear that the scheme can not be effectively enforced, which is another reason why it seems useless bureaucracy. 
• How many clients know that they need to ensure that the people they use are registered traders? How are they expected to check?
• The public do not know the questions to ask trades. The onus is on the trades to register & the clients to ensure the people they use are so registered.
• The only reason I know about the certificates is because I moved house in 2013 & my daughter is moving next week & reminded me. Solicitors require all the certificates when you sell your house.
• I can see the need to protect the public from "rogue traders" & "cowboys" & risk of physical harm. It does seem sensible that people doing work on electrics & gas in particular should be professionally competent & up to date. Therefore there should be mandatory, certificated, training on a regular basis to ensure skills & knowledge are appropriate. 
• I can also see that the government wants to crack down on the "Black Economy," which is rife in the building trade. Tradespeople might want to keep their costs as low as possible to keep quotes low & get the jobs, although I have never met a poor plumber.
• Anything which costs trades money, uses time they could be working or increases their paperwork is not going to be welcomed. They are people with skills, experience & expertise. That should be recognised. They are not necessarily financial wizards or academic. It all needs to be as simple & brief as possible.

RH will register himself. He can see that it will benefit him. He doesn't do any gas work. He will use a registered electrician in future. It has been very stressful for him too.

I also wonder what happens if vendors don't have certificates for work they have had done, which I suspect is widespread? Are the solicitors for sale & purchase really going to stop the sale going ahead?  I doubt it. I think they will just ignore it. I doubt there are even checks to ensure an existing  certificate is valid.

I just wonder who devised & implimented this legislation? Who trialled it? Who checks & how is it monitored for effectiveness? In my view it isn't fit for purpose.