VIEW FROM THE LOBBY T
he Wired for Success: ECA Women into Electrical Contracting initiative continues to fuel debate and gather momentum. On 13 June, the ECA, along with
principal partners L&Q Housing Association, held a roundtable event that brought together an influential group of MPs, local authorities, local councils, government officials and housing associations to share and discuss the ‘blueprint’ for the Wired for Success model. Under the general theme of ‘addressing the gender imbalance and offering lasting career opportunities’, discussion centred on how social housing landlords can help women into training and work. The event was designed to show other organisations how they can practically use their position to give their unemployed tenants and residents a chance to learn a skill and begin a lasting career. This is particularly important in industries like ours, where women are under- represented and we are facing a looming future skills crisis.
Cut-out fuses The ECA has been busy engaging with government on other issues relevant to our members. Cut-out fuses continue to be a real bugbear for many of our members, and the ECA has actively lobbied
2012 ECA circulars
JUNE 2012 n Circular 108 2012 – ECA Health & Safety training to meet UKCG requirements Date published online: 20/06/2012. Category: Training. n Circular 107 2012 – Helping members reduce vehicle fuel costs and improve profits Date published online: 20/06/2012. Category: Environment. n Circular 106 2012 – ECA Certification now offering BAFE quality scheme SP203-1 Date published online: 20/06/2012. Category: Technical. n Circular 105 2012 – Registered Members get 20% off Glenigan subscription Date published online: 06/06/2012. Category: Technical. n Circular 104 2012 – Confirmed dates for free Lutron technology events Date published online: 06/06/2012. Category: Technical. n Circular 103 2012 – Find out what you need to know about RCDs and the 17th Edition Date published online: 06/06/2012. Category: Training. n Circular 102 2012 – Changes to forthcoming Feed-in Tariff (FITs) cuts delayed Date published online: 06/06/2012. Category: Environment. n Circular 101 2012 – If you complete only one ECA survey this year Date published online: 06/06/2012. Category: Sales & Marketing.
by Carol Wrench, head of Communications
government to take action to stop the electricity supply companies from denying independent contractors fair access to a property’s cut-out fuse. This costs ECA members nearly £10m per year. While the government will not mandate an isolator switch for installed smart meters to rectify the problem, we are heartened by a commitment from government to work with industry to find a solution. We will be taking this forward, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank those members who have lobbied their local MPs on this matter, as the more members who raise this issue, the wider we spread our message – and the more likely we are to effect change.
Tax breaks
Attempting to get government to reconsider its taxation plans, however, is a more challenging task. Given the state of public coffers, it is hardly surprising that the government is reluctant to consider anything that reduces the amount of revenue coming into the public purse. The ECA has long been lobbying government to reduce VAT on repairs and maintenance to five per cent, to try to generate business and to help those contractors operating legitimately – paying VAT – to compete. While it is clear that we are not going to make any headway at the present time on this issue,
the ECA is involved in a coalition of heritage and construction bodies that is seeking to persuade the government to reverse its Budget Day proposal to end the zero VAT rate for work on listed buildings. While this will only affect a small percentage of members, we believe that any moves that discourage renovation work at a time like this are misguided. As part of this coalition, we recently had a meeting with Treasury Minister David Gauke MP on this subject. As it currently stands, the planned change will take effect from October 2012.
Green Deal Another area of uncertainty for members is the Green Deal – the government’s flagship ‘pay as you save’ national energy efficiency retrofitting scheme that will begin in late 2012. The ECA is seeking to engage with government to help correct some of the problems in its design of the Green Deal. We have a number of technical concerns, but we also hope that the Green Deal will eventually be established in a way that will enable small businesses to offer Green Deal solutions to clients who want to take out a third-party loan to make their properties more energy-efficient. You can be sure that we will keep you informed of our progress on this important issue.
MAY 2012 n Circular 100 2012 – ECA Electrical Industry Conference a roaring success Date published online: 30/05/2012. Category: Sales & Marketing. n Circular 99 2012 – Priority School Building Programme plans announced Date published online: 30/05/2012. Category: Tendering and contract administration. n Circular 98 2012 – ECA Warranty 2012 Date published online: 30/05/2012. Category: ECA service updates. n Circular 97 2012 – SummitSkills Awards for Excellence: Open for nominations Date published online: 30/05/2012. Category: Training. n Circular 96 2012 – The Big Survey is coming Date published online: 30/05/2012. Category: Sales & Marketing. n Circular 95 2012 – Welsh Government is reviewing Building Regulations Part L Date published online: 23/05/2012. Category: Environment. n Circular 94 2012 – Plan your Olympic Games transport Date published online: 23/05/2012. Category: Tendering and contract administration. n Circular 93 2012 – ECA receives Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) accreditation Date published online: 23/05/2012. Category: Training. n Circular 92 2012 – Entries for 2012 Electrical Industry Awards now open Date published online: 23/05/2012. Category: Sales & Marketing.
n Circular 91 2012 – Company director given suspended prison sentence for falsely claiming ECA accreditation Date published online: 16/05/2012. Category: Tendering and contract administration. n Circular 90 2012 – Government focus on mediation welcomed by JIBMS Date published online: 16/05/2012. Category: Employee Relations. n Circular 89 2012 – Notifiable non-licensed work with asbestos (NNLW) Date published online: 16/05/2012. Category: Health & Safety. n Circular 88 2012 – COSHH risk assessment template Date published online: 16/05/2012. Category: Health & Safety. n Circular 87 2012 – Changing your Energy Solutions e-forum email alert settings Date published online: 09/05/2012. Category: Environment. n Circular 86 2012 – Gearing up for the 2012 Electrical Industry Conference Date published online: 09/05/2012. Category: Sales & Marketing. n Circular 85 2012 – Government pledges to improve public procurement Date published online: 09/05/2012. Category: Tendering and contract administration. n Circular 84 2012 – Updated ECA Guide to the Wiring Regulations is now available Date published online: 09/05/2012. Category: Technical.
Circular 83 2012 – PAS 2060: demonstrating ‘carbon neutrality’
Date published online: 03/05/2012. Category: Environment. n Circular 82 2012 – RIDDOR reporting changes Date published online: 03/05/2012. Category: Health & Safety. n Circular 81 2012 – New IEEE Wireless WiFi Standard IEEE 802.11ac Date published online: 03/05/2012. Category: Technical. n Circular 80 2012 – Use of Mobile Phones in Petrol Filling Stations Date published online: 03/05/2012. Category: Technical.
APRIL 2012 n Circular 79 2012 – Notifying HMRC about undisclosed income Date published online: 26/04/2012. Category: Finance Matters. n Circular 78 2012 – Feedback on the National Policy Planning Framework Date published online: 26/04/2012. Category: Tendering and contract administration. n Circular 77 2012 – Call for entries for the National Apprenticeship Awards 2012 and National Training Awards 2012 Date published online: 26/04/2012. Category: Training. n Circular 76 2012 – ECA publishes guide to ‘Making the Case for Energy Saving Measures’ Date published online: 26/04/2012. Category: Environment. n Circular 75 2012 – International safety award for access leaders, Nationwide Platforms Date published online: 19/04/2012. Category: Training.
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ECA Today July 2012
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