A newly-revised PAS125 is due to be published in
January, after receiving comments from across the industry. So far, 206 bodyshops have achieved PAS125 and the BSI Kitemark while more than 500 applications have been received. 

Thatcham, the insurer-funded research and training organisation that oversees the standard, will start to promote PAS125 and the Kitemark to the public from June.

At that point it expects to have 500 bodyshops on board, just over 10% of the industry’s 4,800 primary sites.

The draft, currently out for consultation, includes amendments such as definitions of safety materials and supervisions, which were not previously clear.

Others include clarification about best before dates – out-of-date paint is not covered, while other products are – and air conditioning being listed separately to MET, as it is not covered under this bracket.

David Cresswell, chairman of ABP Club, said the move was a fantastic example of “an industry getting behind a standard and having an effect”.