Scottish government allows professional plumbing and heating installers to self-certify drainage, heating and plumbing work, including micro-renewable installations.
The new scheme, launched at the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers' Federation (SNIPEF) conference on May 21, means that as well as being able to self-certify their work, members of the scheme can display a Scottish Government logo which will identify them as a member of the scheme.

The Scottish Ministers approved a Scheme for Certification of Construction (Drainage, Heating & Plumbing Installations) at the end of 2009 and at the same time, the Scottish government's Building Standards Division (BSD) appointed SNIPEF to run the scheme.

SNIPEF's director & Secretary Robert Burgon said: 'The Approved Certifier of Construction Scheme is a significant step forward for the plumbing industry in Scotland. For the first time, properly qualified plumbers will be able to self-certify their work under a building warrant without waiting for a local authority inspector to inspect their work and sign off a completion certificate'.

Burgon added: 'The range of work covered under the scheme which includes drainage, plumbing, heating, micro-renewables as well as a selection of electrical work is also significant as the scheme covers not only the traditional work areas of the industry such as drainage but it also encompasses the new skills the industry is learning on micro-renewables'.

SNIPEF has been working for a number of years with officials from the Scottish Building Standards Division to set up the scheme.
The scheme is scheduled to go live to the public in mid-June and customers can access the Building Standards website to search for a list of Approved Certifiers.

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