I've taken these extracts from the current issue of the IEE publication "Wiring Matters," which was discussed in a thread started by Joe recently.

{.....} indicates where I've cut sections of the article to keep it reasonably short here.

Quote
{.....} At the present time, electrical installations in the dwelling are excluded from the scope of the building regulations in England and Wales, although this is not the case in Scotland where the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations apply.

The Department of Transport, Local Government and The Regions, now called the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has published proposals to include requirements for electrical installations in the regulations. {.....}

Requirement P, to be added to the schedule of the building regulations, is reproduced in Figure 1.

Fig. 1 *****************************************
Fixed electrical installations in dwellings.

P. Fixed electrical installations in dwellings shall be suitably designed, installed, inspected and tested so as to provide reasonable protection against their being a source of a fire or a cause of injury to persons. {.....}
*************************************************

The Draft Approved Document P is a 20-page document and is available on the web.

The basic requirement is that electrical installations should meet the fundamental principals {sic} of Chapter 13 of BS7671 :2001 (or other EEC countries wiring rules). {.....}

Persons generally will be required to give notice to the Local Authority when they are to carry out any electrical installation work in a dwelling. This includes not only work in new dwellings, but also work in existing dwellings. However it is not necessary to notify electrical installation work to building control bodies in the following circumstances:

i) Where persons of a class or description prescribed in relation to these matters by the Secretary of State undertake the proposed installation work.

ii) Where the proposed installation work is minor work and does not include the provision of a new circuit, see Table 1.

Persons who would not need to notify the local authority building control are persons (this legally includes firms) who are registered with an accredited certification body. {.....}


Table 1. ***************************************

Minor electrical installation works in dwellings which need not be notified.

1. Additional lighting points (light fittings and switching) on an existing circuit [1].

2. Adding socket-outlets to an existing ring or radial circuit [1].

3. Replacement of accessories such as socket-outlets, control switches and ceiling roses, but excluding circuit protective devices.

4. Installation and/or upgrading and testing of main equipotential bonding.

5. Upgrading and testing of supplementary bonding.

6. Replacement of the cable for a single circuit only, where damaged, e.g. by fire, rodent, or impact [2].

7. Re-fixing and/or repairing the enclosures of existing wiring systems [3].

8. Providing existing mechanical protection to existing equipment [4].

Notes:

1. Only if the existing circuit protective device is suitable and provides protection for the modified circuit and other safety provisions are satisfactory.

2. On condition that the replacement cable is identical in manufactured specification, follows the same route and does not serve more than one sub-circuit through a distribution board.

3. On condition that the circuit's protective measures are unaffected.

4. On condition the circuit's protective measures and current-carrying capacity of conductors are unaffected.

Well, that certainly raises quite a few questions in my mind, but I'll throw this out for discussion before I jump in with my 2 cents' worth.

The documentation referred to in the article is available in PDF format at: www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/consult/electric/pdf/build.pdf

(You have to read through the usual bureaucratic waffle to find the salient points. The extracts above seem to summarize it pretty well, though.)

{Edited for typos!}


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 03-25-2003).]