Whilst the battle to make the powers-that-be understand that over-regulation is damaging to the whole heating and renewables industry continues, I am pleased to share the letter below with you. It is the view of just one person, but I know that it is typical of the opinion of many thousands of installers all over the country.
Sirs
Recently we decided to take the plunge and apply for MCS registration but the hidden costs, work and stress involved to comply with all the MCS requirements is such that we have been forced to withdraw our application.
The government’s most recent U-turn on feed in tariff prices which pulls the rug out from under the renewables sector’s feet, does nothing to instill any confidence in the sector whatsoever and I have to wonder just how serious our government are in aiming to meet the Kyoto agreement figures in 2020 since at present we are the 2nd worst in the world with only 5% achieved?
It isn’t just the obvious membership and assessment costs involved but also the hidden training, lost revenue and bureaucratic costs as well as the intrusive nature of the yearly assessments, ongoing surveillance at all stages of each job, the level of paperwork involved, the environmental issues with creating so much paperwork, storage of the same, time/money lost through assessments, added stress and to be honest, for a small business with either one proprietor or married partners, internal review meetings which are rather pointless paper exercises.
In such small businesses, these procedures are done as a matter of course but not necessarily minuted or recorded; there simply aren’t enough hours in the day! If we are to take on another member of staff just to take on the extra paperwork involved, it rather defeats the object of trying to make a profit. All in all, the costs for a small business of say 8 employees; to remain compliant with MCS is over £5000 per year! This just isn’t viable.
There is no guarantee that there will be sufficient renewables work (certainly we haven’t had enough enquiries) to cover the extra man hours and cost of MCS registration let alone make any profit afterwards and it seems to be yet another serious hindrance to work which could be so easily avoided.
Paul Reeve of the ECA correctly identifies this increasing nightmare of certification and bureaucracy as a massive barrier which local contractors have no incentive to surmount. “People are already trained in this work and it would be irresponsible to burden them with further qualifications under the Green Deal. The government needs to know there is a ‘plan B’ in which the local contractors, rather than the major energy companies or retailers, offer a much more direct route to the homeowner.”
Mr Reeve is absolutely correct, we are here, waiting to promote renewables, trained, insured and often have reputable, well established and above all stable businesses which local people trust. We need to be given the freedom to do this work to a high standard (which the MCS does not address) for our customers without unnecessary financial and bureaucratic burdens.
Economic times are hard enough and we keep seeing new firms start up, clean up and go bust yet it is the small local businesses which are the stable back bone of this country. MCS asks for insurance to cover customer’s warranties should a firm go bust, this we can do so easily but it doesn’t stop the gravy train chasers going bump when the grants stop.
When will our government realize that we need to mobilize the whole of the heating and electrical industries small businesses to help the UK meet its Kyoto agreement quota?
Ironically MCS is THE SINGLE BIGGEST barrier to growth in this area. Appropriate for larger firms of 50+ employees but crippling for SMEs. PLEASE revoke this silly money-go-round and let us get on with the work of building our country.
J Farrer
Director
David A. Farrer Ltd
Posts
I have yet to speak to anyone MCS registered or involved in the MCS scheme who does not see this whole system as a massive and beaurochratic money-go-round. As per usual, experienced installers are not trusted enough to do the work they are already qualified for. Many of us have been in business through several governments. WE LAST LONGER THAN THEY DO but we have to pick up the pieces every time!
ReplyDeleteIF they are serious about even coming close to the Kyoto agreement then every competent installer in the UK must be allowed the freedom to simply get on with the work.
The Plumbing & Heating industry has far too much bureaucracy, red tape and a long line of leeches who seem to think they have a right to live off the back of installers, we have to re-sit ACS exams every 5 years, even though they are exactly the same exam as we took 5 years previous and we have to pay for the privilage,we have to pay Gas Safe Register every year and if you want to install renewables then you have to pay extortionate to join MCS, which is more concerned with how you keep your paperwork in order rather than whether you are skilled enough to install the renewable products, to join the MCS you have to take yet more exams, which again have to be re-taken every 5 years, even though nothing would of changed in the installation procedures, we have to pay Public Liability insurance, van running costs and an ever increasing fuel costs.
ReplyDeleteNow to add to this burden, Gas Safe have informed installers that the "industry" (whoever they bloody well are) have decided that we have to sit another ACS exam, CPA1, this is for the use Gas Analysers, they state that we must sit this course before April 2012, otherwise we will have our Gas Safe registration suspended for boiler, fires and water heaters, meaning we will no longer be able to work on Gas Boilers, Gas fires or water heaters legally, even if you have ACS qualifications that are still valid as mine are until 2014 you will still be suspended, I would like to know if this is legal, restricting my ability to work for an ACS they have brought in retrospectively, the other issue I have for the CPA1 is even if installers take it, most do not possess an analyser and most boilers do not require the use of an analyser at instalation, so what is the point, forcing people to take an exam to use a TOOL, even though the majority do not possess this tool, or is that the next stage, forcing installers to purchase an analyser, all this nonsense is brought in under the guise of safety, well with the training centers needing to keep their profits up and the manufacturers of analysers realising they are not as popular as they thought they would be it makes you wonder the real reason for CPA1, oh and don't forget the analyser needs calabrating every year, which is another high expense, all these high costs to run a legal and legitimate business means we have to increase our prices to cover the costs, this then makes the legitimate installer expensive when compared to the illegal installers and the cowboys, this is why the public turn to the cowboys and illegals, because they are cheaper, but in doing so risk the safety of themselves and their family, but money is king and if someone is cheaper, they will get the job pure and simple