Capita Plc will continue to operate the official register of engineers licensed to undertake gas work on behalf of The Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE today announced the outsourcing company as the preferred bidder to deliver the five-year contract.
Following a robust public procurement process, Capita Gas Registration and Ancillary Services (CGRAS) – a division of Capita Plc – was declared the preferred bidder to provide Gas Safe registration services from 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2024.
The contract award is now subject to a statutory 10-day standstill period in which other companies can contest the decision.
CGRAS will continue its provision of the service having operated the Register since 2009 but with several service enhancements.
Philip White, HSE’s Director of Regulation, said: “During the procurement process we received several strong bids and we are pleased with the interest the tender opportunity generated.
“The bid from Capita / CGRAS was the strongest on cost and quality and we are confident they will continue to raise the standards of gas safety and provide a gas safe home for everyone.”
HSE said that in addition to the strength of Capita’s bid for the next concession, it felt assured by the way CGRAS had managed GSR services over the last nine years.
Mr White added: “We will continue to employ a thorough governance process, including key performance indicators and service level agreements with potential financial penalties to manage the contract closely to ensure services are delivered in a cost-effective manner and the needs of gas engineers and consumers are met.”
The Gas Safe Register is fully funded by registration fees (it has around 132,000 registered engineers and 75,000 registered businesses) and fees for building regulation notifications.
There is no action required for businesses and engineers currently registered and no change to registrations or renewal dates. All contact numbers will remain the same and registered engineers will be informed by the provider of any changes to the service that may affect them before they are introduced.
Anyone working on a gas appliance without being registered is doing so illegally and could be prosecuted.
Notes to Editors:
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk
- More about the legislation referred to in this press release can be found at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2451/contents/made
- HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk
- The Gas Safe Register is the only official list of domestic gas engineers who are competent and can work legally on gas appliances and installations.
- The current registration fees are available on the Gas Safe Register website (https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/becoming-registered/registration-fees/) . The initial registration fee is £362, with an annual renewal charge of £152 (if renewing online).
- The services the Gas Safe Register provides include:
- Consumer access to the list of registered engineers (allowing consumers to check that engineers are registered and competent to complete planned work)
- Technical helpline and advice for engineers
- An inspection regime to monitor engineers’ competency, with sanctions for unsafe gas work
- Raising consumer awareness of gas safety and carbon monoxide risks
- There will be several changes and improvements during the new concession, including:
- A single UK-wide service that will operate across Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Revised inspection targets – by applying a risk-based approach to target inspections where they will have most impact, the number of inspections will reflect the number of businesses registered and the risk these businesses and their engineers represent. This will result in an estimated increase of approx. 20% in the number of inspections in Year 1 compared to the final year of current agreement.
- Enabling registered engineers to more easily access data held about them (such as inspection history and findings, risk rating).
- A commitment to explore the benefits of introducing student registration.
- The introduction of an advisory panel to the Register with representation from across the industry, focussing on the smaller businesses that are not represented on other industry platforms, to improve engagement and communication between the industry and the Register.
- In 2017, HSE issued more than £800,000 in fines and prosecutions resulted in a combined five years of jail time.
- Further information about the services provided by Gas Safe Register is available on the HSE website and the Gas Safe Register website.
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