CORGI is facing questions over the success of its Gas Work Notification (GWN) regime after the gas safety watchdog released official figures for the scheme’s first full year in existence.
Since April 2005 it has been compulsory for registered installers across the UK to notify CORGI of all domestic gas installations.
Figures published earlier this week revealed that CORGI received around one million notifications in the first full year of the scheme – with 65 per cent (650,000) of those being boilers.
However, insiders have pointed out that official figures released by industry bodies such the Heating and the Hotwater Information Council (HHIC) and the SBGI estimate gas boiler sales to be nearer to one and half million for the same period.
Commenting on the publication of CORGI’s notification figures, Bruce Allen, the registration and development director for the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT), told H&V News : “It’s encouraging that around 650,000 boilers have been registered in the last 12 months through the works notification system. However, taking into account that SBGI figures show annual sales of 1.5 million gas boilers, this leaves a considerable shortfall of appliances that installers aren’t notifying.”
As reported in last week’s H&V News, (May 20), NAPIT has lodged an application with the Health & Safety Executive to operate its own gas safety registration scheme.