Warning to health & safety test cheats after two are jailed

CITB-ConstructionSkills has given would be fraudsters a strong warning after two men were jailed for a total of 18 months for taking health and safety tests on behalf of other construction workers.

Gurpreet Singh and Parampreet Singh were both convicted after pleading guilty at Luton Crown Court. They had been caught by staff at CITB Construction Skills' test centre in Luton, Bedfordshire, and were sentenced to nine months each.

CITB-ConstructionSkills' product delivery manager Chris Little, explained that staff discovered the fraud, known as proxy testing, after realising the men had taken multiple tests using several other workers' identification passes which bore their own photographs.

He said: “Both men were being paid to take the test by other candidates, and it soon became clear to us that the same men were taking the test for other people each time.

CITB-ConstructionSkills chief executive Mark Farrar condemned the practice saying: “I'm glad the vigilance of CITB-ConstructionSkills staff caught and put a stop to this illegal activity. We support the industry by continually investigating test fraud, and we take it very seriously indeed."

“Proxy testing is selfdefeating because it both endangers the lives of the people who solicit it and their colleagues on construction sites. Those who are found to be proxy testing will be reported to the police and could face prosecution.”

Both men are foreign nationals and will be deported once they have served their sentences. www.cskills.org/