Abbreviation GSR Formation 2009 | Predecessor CORGI Legal status Non-profit company | |
Purpose Accreditation for gas installation work Location Viables Business Park, Basingstoke, UK | ||
Gas Safe Register is the official gas registration body for the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Guernsey, appointed by the relevant Health and Safety Authority for each area. By law all gas engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register.
Contents
- The change from CORGI to Gas Safe Register
- Becoming Gas Safe Registered
- Governance and regulation
- Gas Safety Week
- References
Gas Safe Register replaced CORGI as the gas registration body in Great Britain and Isle of Man on 1 April 2009 and Northern Ireland and Guernsey on 1 April 2010.
The purpose of the Gas Safe Register is to protect the public from unsafe gas work. It does this in two main ways, operation of the Register itself e.g. ensuring that the list of competent and qualified to carry out work is accurate and up-to-date, inspecting the work of Gas Safe registered engineers and investigating reports of illegal gas work. The second area is to conduct public awareness campaigns to raise awareness of gas safety issues.
The change from CORGI to Gas Safe Register
A 2006 review by the Health and Safety Executive identified ‘a case for change’ to the CORGI scheme that had been registering gas installers since 1991. In competitive tender, Capita was appointed to overhaul the scheme and operate it for 10 years from April 2009.
Becoming Gas Safe Registered
Before applying to register engineers will need relevant qualifications and evidence of competence. Once an engineer has gained the relevant qualifications and the required evidence, this information will be passed to Gas Safe Register. At present, Gas Safe Register only accepts the ACS, NVQ or SVQ qualifications. Every Gas Safe registered business renews their registration on an annual basis, and updates their qualifications every 5 years.
Governance and regulation
The scheme is administered by Capita Group on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive. in the United Kingdom Mainland and for the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland. The contract differs in Northern Ireland in relation to the main contract for mainland of the United Kingdom.
Gas Safe Register deals with all aspects of the downstream gas industry covered by the following regulations:
The regulations cover both piped natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Gas Safety Week
In 2011 Gas Safe Register launched a consumer awareness initiative called Gas Safety Week, with the aim of focusing the public's attention on gas safety issues and helping raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Since 2011, the campaign has grown significantly and has become an industry-wide initiative supported by the large energy providers, retailers, charities and Gas Safe registered engineers.