Chris Bielby, Chair of the Electrical Safety Roundtable shares his excitement about the upcoming Virtual Conference which will be Shining a Spotlight on Initiatives Impacting Electrical Safety in Homes and Workplaces.

I have been the Chairman of the Electrical Safety Roundtable since its inception in 2012 and I can’t help feeling extremely proud as I reflect on our achievements and growth over the last 9 years. Within that time we have seen the introduction of new Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector in England, supported Government discussions about enhancing electrical safety in the Social Rented Sector through our dedicated sub-group, expanded our remit to consider Electrical Safety in the Workplace and produced an award winning ‘12 steps to safe isolation’ infographic. These are just a few of our achievements over recent years and shows how much progress is being made in this area.

Building on this progress and the current interest in enhancing electrical safety, I am delighted to be Chairing our first Virtual Conference, taking place on the 12^th May from 09.30-16.00. The Conference will be Shining a Spotlight on Initiatives Impacting Electrical Safety in Homes and Workplaces and the schedule is packed with high profile, influential industry stakeholders.

Throughout the day, we are being joined by the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, Clive Betts MP who has been a long-standing supporter of enhancing electrical safety, following the committees inquiry into the certification of domestic electrical work in 2013/14. He will be discussing the potential impact of the Building Safety Bill on Electrical Safety and Competence. Lorna Stimpson, Chief Executive of LABC will follow, giving an overview of the impact of the draft Building Safety Bill on Local Authority Building Control and David Cowburn, Chief Operating Officer at NAPIT will be rounding the morning session off with an overview of recent electrical industry updates.

Electrical Safety in Social Housing will also feature prominently during the day, with an update from Lesley Rudd, Chief Executive of Electrical Safety First on their policy paper, Improving Electrical Safety for Tenants in the Social Rented Sector in England. Following which, we will hear first-hand from those who manage the safety of electrical systems within Social Housing accommodation.

The conference will also explore Electrical Safety in the Workplace, with a presentation from Paul Meenan, C2C Asset Manager and Chairman of the Electrical Safety Roundtable’s Electrical Safety in the Workplace group, on Corporate Risk.

To conclude, we have a speaker from MHCLG discussing the introduction of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, and the Group Commander and Head of Fire Investigation for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service providing an overview of their recent “BE A BRIGHT SPARK – GET THE RIGHT SPARK” social media campaign.

The diversity of speakers and breadth of topics covered within this conference really highlights the number of opportunities to enhance electrical safety that are on-going within the sector. This conference is set to be one not to miss for anyone with an interest in electrical safety, be that from Local Authorities, Housing Associations, Certification Bodies, Registered Electrical Contractors, Manufacturers, Electrical and Construction Trade Associations, MP’s, Safety Charities and more.

This conference has kindly been sponsored by Megger and NAPIT making it free to attend.

To find out more about the conference, and to register free of charge, click here.