Latest news
Good news for consumers as charities propose merger
1st January 2008
In October last year David Dossett, Chairman of the Electrical Safety Council and Mary Benwell, Chair of the CORGI Trust announced that the two charities were in discussions about a possible merger. The hard work of looking at the detail of the merger will fall to Jim Speirs, Director General of the Electrical Safety Council and Ian Powney, Chief Operating Officer at CORGI.
"I am genuinely excited by the proposed merger. This is a great opportunity for both parties," explains Jim. "If we get this right, the combined charities can become a really influential and respected body for UK electrical and gas safety issues. There's a huge amount of detail to work out, but I see this as a positive move for everyone in their respective sectors". "For trades people, we will see better cooperation and coordination in the delivery of messages about safety; and for consumers, we want to be able to give even greater clarity and confidence about where to go and what to do to ensure that suppliers of services are registered and trusted. For me, the combination of the two charities makes enormous sense."
The Electrical Safety Council and the CORGI Trust have similar aims of promoting and supporting electrical and gas safety in the UK respectively. Both are independent, non-profit making organisations which are supported by a wide range of stakeholders from their respective industries. The Electrical Safety Council deals with all electrical safety matters on behalf of consumers. The CORGI Trust, which was set up in 2005, is funded by the commercial activities undertaken by the CORGI Services Group.
Jim is keen to temper any worries about what might happen to the commercial operations of the charities at this stage of the discussions. "When I have spoken to people about this proposed merger, they’ve been keen to ask about the impact of the merger on the registration schemes of both organisations. It’s important not to get ahead of ourselves. These discussions are about the merging of the charities and the benefits that might emerge from this."
"Whilst both charities are sole owners of their commercial businesses, we are not addressing these commercial activities in our talks. Gas installers and electricians shouldn’t be concerned about changes to the registration schemes or other commercial activities as a result of this merger. This is about getting clearer and more coherent safety messages to consumers. Safety should always be our number one priority. This proposed merger means that we’ll be able to get even more on top of health and safety issues and campaign better for safety in both the electricity and gas sectors."
Jim is pleased with the responses and reactions to the proposed merger so far.
"To date, the announcement appears to have been well received. The members of the Electrical Safety Council seem very positive about the idea. My feeling is that people see few downsides as it is something of a merger of two equals which is supported by both sides."
There are a great number of details to work through, and issues such as a new name for the combined charities, and management structures, are some way down the line. It is business as usual at the Electrical Safety Council and still early days for the talks, so the timeframe for the discussions is not yet fully determined. Switched On will of course bring more news of the merger as discussions progress.
