Accreditation leads to quality says Northgate Public Services

Accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) should become a condition of authorisation for competent person self-certification scheme operators, states Northgate Public Services today.

Responding to the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) consultation on Building Regulations competent person self-certification scheme, Northgate says that accreditation by UKAS will offer consumers and stakeholders greater piece of mind about such schemes.

Under the plans, UKAS would provide the quality assurance that is required of such schemes. Operators who showed low levels of compliance would have to agree to an action plan with CLG. Although Northgate accepts that this may cause additional cost for the schemes, it argues that putting such measures in place would be beneficial to everyone as deficiencies within schemes could be corrected earlier than would otherwise be the case.

Northgate also recommends that customers should be automatically given financial protection for any jobs that are undertaken through an insurance-backed warranty, professional indemnity insurance or bond, provided through the supplier. This would protect them against a situation where work carried out under a competent person scheme does not comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations but the installer is no longer able to bring the work up to standard.

Russell Osborne, Managing Director of Citizen Solutions at Northgate Public Services, said today: “For some schemes, compliance with building regulations is not currently at an acceptable level. Sub-standard work is not only a safety hazard, it can cause devastation to the lives of customers left abandoned to put things right. Poor practice simply will not do. The independence of UKAS is widely recognised. Its involvement will help to promote customer confidence and drive up standards to ensure the very highest quality of work within the schemes.

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For more information
Fellows’ Associates
Kathy Sutton +44(0)20 7324 6221; +44(0)7966 890401
Danny Calogero +44(0)20 7324 6223; +44(0)7534 189235

Notes to editors
1. Northgate Public Services is an innovative provider of transformation and improvement services to the public sector. It is committed to high quality public services that place individuals and their communities at their heart. Its knowledge and understanding of people’s needs are core to its business, as too, is its depth and breadth across public services.

2. Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology; to understand why and what change is necessary; to provide new thinking leading to improved performance; and to link company rewards with positive outcomes for the communities for whom it works. It supports transformation through sustainable performance partnerships. In the UK, Northgate works with ninety five per cent of local authorities, every police force, and a large number of health organisations, housing associations, utilities and transport companies.