From 1 April 2009, the Gas Safe Register replaced the CORGI gas registration scheme in Great Britain.

The CORGI brand is historically well-known in the UK and was born out of the Gas Board as a membership of leading gas installers. CORGI subsequently went on to run the mandatory gas scheme for government for many years.

However, the Gas Safe Register replaced CORGI as the gas registration body in GB on 1 April 2009 after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out a review of gas safety in 2006. This led to the decision to change to a new gas registration scheme and the contract was subsequently awarded to Capita Group plc and they launched Gas Safe Register.

Gas Safe Register is designed to offer the general public an improved service by making it easier to find and check the qualifications of an engineer. Each Gas Safe registered engineer has a photo ID card with a unique licence number and to check any individual engineer to see what work they are qualified to do you can visit the Gas Safe Register website at www.gassaferegister.co.uk or call the dedicated helpline on 0800 408 5500.

On a day-to-day basis, to legally carry out work on gas installations and appliances, engineers in Great Britain and the Isle of Man must be on the Gas Safe Register. However, this legislation does not generally apply to touring caravans or motorhomes, where the current requirement to service or repair gas appliances in such vehicles is often only to be considered ‘competent’. The caravan industry, through Caravan Industry Training (CITO), has developed a competence based training and assessment course aimed specifically at the requirements of caravan service engineers. This is an ACoP (Approved Code of Practice) industry qualification which is assessed by an accredited ACS (Accredited Certification Scheme) centre. ACoPs should be seen as the minimum standard for anyone working on gas appliances and it is a requirement for a caravan dealer’s membership of the Approved Workshop Scheme that 100% of the dealer’s engineers should have this ACoP qualification.

The next step in qualification is to advance to the ACS training level. This then qualifies an engineer to become eligible to join the Gas Safe Register. This then also allows gas work on touring caravans and motorhomes which are hired out in the course of business, where Gas Safe Register status is legally required. Tilshead Caravans are pleased to confirm that we have full Gas Safe Register status and currently have two Gas Safe registered, ACS qualified, engineers on our team.

Where does that leave CORGI? Well, although no longer recognised in law as a gas safety register, CORGI will remain a name in the gas industry as they will continue to offer a range of services and products to gas engineers and to promote them to homeowners through the addition of a new quality-based membership scheme. Only time will tell if the Gas Safe Register will become as synonymous with gas safety as the CORGI name has.

The current photocard driving licence was introduced ten years ago and has become an important proof of identity as well as a confirmation of which motor vehicles you are able to drive. However, the tenth anniversary has raised some eyebrows with the little-considered fact that you need to renew your licence regularly. Previous paper licences ran until the driver was 70 years of age, but photocard licences, because our appearance changes and photos need updating, are valid for only ten years. The first photocard licences have now started to expire.

DVLA do send out reminders shortly before a licence is due for renewal, which will help all drivers who have kept DVLA advised of any change of address. However, it may be worth checking when your licence expires! To assist you, there are two dates on the front of the photocard licence. The date marked 4a is the date the photocard is valid from and 4b is the expiry date of the licence. Generally there is a ten year period between the two dates, but for some drivers, such as those approaching or over 70 years of age, a shorter period is more usual.

Renewal of a licence is usually straightforward, although inevitably there is a cost to pay to renew a photocard and this is currently set at £17.50. For more details of procedure please visit the DVLA or DirectGov websites.

We hope that this helps inform of the current situation and that when you rush home and check your licence (like the author of this article did), you find everything in order. Remember that having an expired licence will pose serious legal problems such as with insurance and you could face a fine of up to £1,000. On a more basic level, it would prevent you from collecting your motorhome or caravan hired from Tilshead Caravans – ruining your holiday. Perhaps checking now would not be a bad idea………………

Although launched at the NEC exhibition in February, the Swift Charisma 550 could not be built immediately and so has not been available to view until now. Tilshead Caravans are therefore pleased to confirm that our demonstrator model is now on display.

The Charisma 550 is the latest new model to be launched by the Swift Group in 2009 and builds on the undoubted popularity of the Swift Challenger 570. Both models offer a similar fixed bed and end washroom layout in a single axle caravan.

The Swift Charisma 550 is 10 inches shorter than the Challenger 570 model and is also 100kg lighter and over £1,600 cheaper. So how does the new model look in real life?

The front lounge offers unexpected space with the parallel seating separated by a chest of drawers. The 7’6” width of the caravan gives a double bed size of up to 7’0” x 5’3” or two single beds for the younger (or shorter) members of the family. The location of the angled heater unit and worktop next to the door are well designed to give a feeling of space.

The central kitchen and galley area retains the usual quality fittings seen elsewhere in the Charisma range, with microwave fitted in the eyelevel cabinets over the hob. There is a worktop area next to the door which is smaller than in, say, the Charisma 540, but is more useable for those of us who normally put a television here, as the Charisma 550 has an ingenious drop-down TV storage cupboard and rotating bracket, meaning you can use the worktop for other purposes! 

The rear fixed bed offers usual Swift refinements such as the elevating bed base with sprung beech slats and excellent storage under. This is easily accessible from the outside courtesy of the side access hatch. At 6’2” in length and 4’6” in width with a quality mattress, this is not that different from the mattress you may have on your double bed at home. Using a little lateral thinking, Swift have also located the table storage area under the bed, to free up space in the caravan - one of the reasons this model is shorter and lighter than the Challenger model. Opposite the bed is the wardrobe and shelving storage, plus a sizeable mirror, next to a mains 230V socket for those wishing to use a hairdryer. It even has two coathooks for those dressing gowns!

Behind the fixed bed is a true en-suite washroom, with a lovely rectangular shower and space to get changed without falling over the new Thetford C250 style toilet. Usual Swift features such as 32mm thick washroom door with domestic style handle and operation plus finishing touches such as the well located mirror add the extra touch of class and emphasise the quality seen throughout the caravan.

When we reflect on the fact that last year you would have needed to purchase a twin axle caravan to get a spacious lounge, fixed bed and end washroom, the fact that Swift have managed to engineer the same features into a caravan with an MTPLM of less than 1500kg, an overall length of 7.30m and a retail price of well under £14,000 is, quite frankly, impressive.