Who should carry out electrical work in my property?

Although many incidents are caused by faulty appliances rather that the electrical installation itself, a properly-installed and well-maintained installation could significantly reduce the possibility of an accident or injury.

So, it is important that any electrical installation work is carried out only by people who are competent. This means people who have the knowledge, skills and experience needed to avoid dangers to themselves and others that electricity can create. It's easy to make an electrical circuit work - it's far harder to make the circuit work safely.

Safety for you in your home is very important and so we strongly recommend that you use an electrician registered with one of the government-approved schemes to carry out any electrical installation work you need to be done.

Registered electricians will work to the UK safety standard BS 7671 (Requirements for Electrical Installations), and will issue a safety certificate for their electrical work to confirm that the installation has been designed, built, inspected and tested in line with that standard.

All of the scheme operators have a complaints procedure where they investigate complaints about registered electricians who may not have kept to the national standard.

The legal requirements for electrical installations in England and Wales are different from those in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Electricians carrying out electrical installation work in England and Wales have to keep to the Building Regulations whereas in Scotland it is the Building Standards system. At the moment, there is no equivalent legal requirement in Northern Ireland.

What are the dangers?

1. Contact with live parts at 230 volts which can cause shock or burns and if these are severe, death;and
2. Faults in appliances and installations which can cause fires.