There is nothing new in anything Suzannah Nichol says about the ease of obtaining CSCS cards (21 April, page 46).
Last year we had 83 different painters working for us and not one of them had a card - furthermore, only a few had heard of them.
The task of qualifying the workforce, many of whom are professional tradespeople that have worked in the industry for more than 20 years, is too great, and it is not going to happen unless we accept trades on grandfather rights. Then the health and safety regulations will be easy to enforce.
Ian Parish, Bedford Painting Contractors
