Four out of five UK homeowners do not check VAT credentials, according to Plentific Published:  21 October, 2016 Plentific.com’s latest consumer insight has found that 4 out of 5 of UK homeowners do not ask to see evidence of VAT credentials when hiring a tradesperson. The HMRC estimates that £3.4 billion is uncollected every year from VAT fraud. While it is legal for a tradesperson to not be VAT-registered when earning under £83,000 per annum, there are some that claim to be VAT-registered so that they can charge customers higher prices. Although the VAT charge can appear on the bill, if the trade professional is not upfront with their credentials, they can keep the 20% fee. Consequently the homeowner is overcharged while participating in VAT fraud. Plentific’s survey found that homeowners aged 18 to 34 are twice as likely to ask to see their trade professional’s VAT credentials when compared to the UK’s average. Londoners are apparently cautious, with 37% asking for evidence. Plentific suggests that this may be a result of the higher prices for London services, causing the homeowners to be wary of additional expenses. Nottingham, on the other hand, appears to care the least, as only 12% said they would ask to see the VAT credentials. Despite the varied results across the UK, however, the majority of homeowners do not ask to see evidence of a trade professional’s VAT credentials. While it is not imperative to confirm a trade professional’s VAT number, or even to hire a registered specialist, homeowners are more likely to get a better deal if they are registered. Source link

Two newly qualified electricians have become the first operatives to successfully complete the new industry-wide TESP career progression scheme, developed and funded by partners including the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), the Joint Industry Board (JIB), Electrical Safety First, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), JTL, and NET. Former Royal Marine Luke Versfeld of Dorset-based PB Electrical, an ECA member-firm and NICEIC registrant, is one of the first to complete the career progression initiative. The other newly qualified electrician is Reece Kirk. The career progression scheme is intended to upskill hundreds of existing electrical workers to qualify them to the industry standard of NVQ Level 3 and AM2. Luke Versfield of PB Electrical stated (see attached photo): “Thank you for this opportunity to complete the ‘TESP programme’. This represents an opportunity to further develop my career as an electrical engineer and I would recommend this course to any potential candidates looking to advance their careers within the electrical industry.” ECA Director of Skills and Employment Alex Meikle commented: “Like much of the engineering industry, our sector faces a growing skills shortage which can only be tackled through a range of measures to increase the number of qualified electricians. “Many congratulations to both Luke and Reece, who have been the first to successfully complete this innovative industry-wide training scheme for existing workers seeking to progress in their careers.” JIB Chief Executive Steve Brawley said: “The JIB is very pleased to support this initiative – it provides an opportunity for people already working as electricians to qualify to the industry standard and receive our gold ECS card in recognition of their achievement.” Michelle Richmond, IET Director for Membership and Professional Development added: “We are really pleased to welcome Luke and Reece into IET Membership.  The IET aims to support engineers and technicians at every stage of their career and I am sure they will continue to grow and develop through IET resources.” Phil Buckle, Director General of Electrical Safety First, commented: “We believe one of the best ways we can protect consumers is by working with the industry and what better way to do this than by ensuring contractors are well trained and properly qualified – which the innovative TESP scheme achieves. We would also like to add our congratulations to Luke and Reece, the very first ‘scheme graduates’!” Both individuals have received an ECS Gold Card in recognition of them meeting the industry standard, a year’s free individual membership of the professional engineering institution the IET, and some cash awards and training subsidies for their efforts. In the coming months the training aspect of the career progression project will be expanded beyond the initial pilot with JTL to the other training providers who have been licenced to deliver the JIB Mature Candidate Assessment, helping to boost the number of operatives taking part in the initiative. The electrical and electronic industries are currently facing a growing skills gap, with ECA research from last year finding that 6 in 10 SME electrical contractors (with 31-100 workers) say they are facing a skills shortage in the workplace. To find out more about the initiative or to apply, please click here. Source link

Book Course HSL is to run a 1 day course on Asbestos – Managing asbestos in domestic* and non-domestic premises. 17 May 2016 This one-day course gives you the knowledge to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises to the standards required by Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR 2012). The course information is also applicable to the management of ‘domestic premises’, such as landlords’ duties for rented accommodation. Many people now dying from asbestos-related diseases are tradesmen – people who work on and maintain buildings. Also, building operators and their management systems are under increasing scrutiny from enforcing authorities, their own staff, and the public. CAR 2012 places a duty to manage asbestos on anyone who has control over the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises. In practice, this means all workplaces that may contain asbestos. Whilst no duty under this regulation falls on operators of rented domestic premises, the same standards are useful in ensuring proper management. Training approaches include presentation, case studies and the practical use of risk assessment and management tools. The health effects of asbestos Dutyholders and their responsibilities Asbestos legislation and guidance The extent of asbestos-containing materials in buildings Commissioning and understanding asbestos surveys Assessing risks and formulating a management plan Managing minor work with asbestos Commissioning and scrutinising asbestos removal firms Communication plans for asbestos management Anyone with duties under Regulation 4 of CAR 2012 – Management of Asbestos in Non-Domestic Premises. People have duties if they are responsible for repair or maintenance of non-domestic premises or access to them. This can include employers, self-employed people and building owners. The course is also suitable for landlords with similar responsibilities for managing risks from asbestos in rented domestic premises. The course will be run at the Health & Safety Laboratory in the spa town of Buxton. Buxton is in the heart of the Peak District and has good links to mainline train stations and Manchester International Airport. Details of hotels in the Buxton area can be found at www.visitbuxton.co.uk The cost of this course is £425 per person (includes course notes, lunch and refreshments). * ‘Domestic’ refers to landlords of domestic premises and not to people in their own homes. Book Course Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers. For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806. Back to Health & Safety Training Courses Source link

The company’s infrastructure boss Chris Tyerman told Construction News the firm was winning several highways jobs north of the border. He said the Scottish highways market provided a number of opportunities for the company and building a presence there was the “natural step to creating organic growth”. Mr Tyerman was appointed as Interserve’s infrastructure head in November 2014 after a number of years at Costain, where his roles included director of highways maintenance and deputy managing director. Interserve construction director Ian Renhard said at the time that Mr Tyerman’s appointment was part of the company’s strategy to grow its infrastructure division, singling out highways work as a particular area of strategic importance for the firm. In March 2015, the company made the decision to target the Scottish highways sector, with Interserve bidding for its first roads job in the early part of 2016, following “positive conversations with Transport Scotland and local authorities”, Mr Tyerman said. “There is certainly opportunity there.” He added: “When we look at what projects are attractive to us and we look at who the customer is and what the funding process is… and whether it sits in a range of projects that allows us to operate competently and comprehensively, there are certainly schemes in Scotland that fall within that assessment criteria and that is the reason why we have moved towards that market.” Interserve is already established in the highways sector in England, having secured a number of local and strategic road contracts in the past two years. In June, it was selected on four out of six of the highways lots for the £1.5bn North-east Procurement Organisation framework covering infrastructure work across the region. It was also one of five firms to be selected in the medium-value lot of Highways England’s £5bn Collaborative Delivery Framework for work up to £25m. The £5bn CDF framework is set to be replaced in spring next year with a new £7bn Routes to Market framework Mr Tyerman said Interserve would be targeting larger schemes in the new framework and wanted to become “a number one contractor” for Highways England. “Working in lot two is a reasonable place to be in, but in the future we want to be in a much higher band of schemes where we can utilise our skills, in-house knowledge and experience to provide better outcomes for customers.” Source link

Renewable developers are demanding urgent action from Scottish ministers to ensure a major windfarm off the Fife coast goes ahead. The developers want to resolve legal action from the RSPB which argues the project will be damaging for sea birds and was granted a judicial review earlier this month. The £2 billion Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind power station is one of four offshore wind projects whose consent by Scottish ministers was successfully challenged. Senior executives at Mainstream, Marubeni, Europower, Siemens and InterGen have expressed their disappointment at the judicial review in a letter to the Scotsman newspaper. The letter says that the project will create hundreds of jobs and calls on ministers to urgently set out how they will address the result of the judicial review. “It is now for Scottish ministers urgently to set out how they will address the result of the judicial review positively to ensure the opportunity is grasped, and to work with us and our partners to ensure that this nationally significant project is properly consented and brought into operation in the very near term,” it said. The firms claim that the project will play a key role in delivering the Scottish government’s target of 100 per cent of Scotland’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and the wider climate and energy objectives of the UK government. Source link