Get ready for the BIG GAS CHANGE!

Get ready for the BIG GAS CHANGE!

From April 1, the Gas Safe Register will take over the mandatory gas registration scheme in Northern Ireland. One year after the scheme was introduced Great Britain and the Isle of Man, the province follows suit, ensuring UK-wide compliance for any engineer or business registered with the Gas Safe Register. Until March 31 the gas

registration scheme will continue to be operated by CORGI. However, engineers have been warned that there will be no dual registration or no grace period — once April 1 arrives; every business or engineer working on gas fittings or appliances must be registered with Gas Safe Register in order to be working legally. Gas Safe Register is the body approved by the Health & Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and every business or engineer already registered with CORGI will receive information about the new scheme in the next few months, with engineers and businesses able to register with Gas Safe from February, allowing everyone to be prepared for the April change-over.

One of the key areas for Gas Safe Register that registration is kept as simple as possible and, with this in mind, registration can be carried out online, or by telephone, with payments accepted by debit card and credit card, it is planned to introduce a direct debit system in the near future as well.

Simon Ayers, Customer Services Director, Gas Safe Register, said, “We want everything connected with Gas Safe Register to be as simple and straightforward as possible. Our role is to simply run the register — we don't sell any extras such as insurance or other services, we are just here to focus on the registration scheme.

“In order to be as progressive as possible we want to work with the industry and already we have met local businesses and engineers and implemented changes they have suggested. We want that to continue. “By encouraging the public to ask for the Gas Safe ID card, introducing new ways, such as text messaging services, for consumers to check if an engineer can legally work on gas and offering easy-to-use services such as ‘Find an Engineer', we believe we can build consumer awareness and confidence and drive out the cowboys.” The new scheme means that engineers and businesses can work on gas both in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Isle of Man. It does not, however, cover the Republic of Ireland.

Gas Safe Register will manage registration renewals for Northern Ireland using the information held by the existing registration body. To ease the transition from CORGI to Gas Safe, businesses and engineers are advised to make sure their qualifications and contact details are up to date.

Reap the benefits

The benefits of being a Gas Safe registered engineer include -

Lower cost of overall service - we keep costs low and will continue to bring costs down and offer useful services for your business

• Increased demand for your services - better public awareness to create a higher demand for Gas Safe registered engineers Renewal of registration on anniversary
• Registration — 12 months service for 12 months fee
• Technical standards update and technical alerts services
• Registered Gas Engineer - a monthly magazine for registered businesses Simple on-line application and renewal process supported by printed versions (where relevant) Straightforward complaints and appeals procedures
• Gas Safe Objectives
• The new Gas Safe Register will- Raise public awareness of gas safety and the register
• Undertake field inspections
• Provide technical support and standards updates to registered engineers

Gas Safe Objectives

• The new Gas Safe Register will- Raise public awareness of gas safety and the register Undertake field inspections
• Provide technical support and standards updates to registered engineers