30 April 2020
New accreditation requirements for plumbers undertaking the routine servicing of fire protection equipment.
Changes to the Plumbing Regulations 2018 clarified that the routine servicing of fire protection equipment is considered plumbing work and must be carried out by an appropriately qualified plumbing practitioner. In response, the VBA has introduced four new restricted classes which practitioners must be registered or licensed under to perform this work.
Anyone performing routine servicing of fire protection equipment must be registered or licensed with the VBA by 31 December 2020. Unregistered or unlicensed practitioners carrying out this work after this date will be liable to VBA enforcement action.