Paul Wilkins, Chair of the ACAI outlines what 2015 has in store for the building control sector…
January 2015 sees the end of my year as Chair of the Building Control Alliance (BCA) and I thought it would be timely to reflect on the past year in the world of building control, and look at what lies ahead for is in 2015.
We have continued to ensure the value of building control continues to be recognised by the construction industry, government and wider society. This will continue in 2015 with initiatives to raise standards via a more robust registration scheme for Approved Inspectors in the private sector, a higher profile for the Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors (ACAI), new Building Control Performance Standards and associated Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and, potentially, the development of some form of Quality Mark for building control across both sectors.
2015 should see the implementation of the Housing Standards Review which will remove much of the uncertainty faced by house builders with regard to local planning requirements. A number of optional building regulations with associated guidance will be developed which planning authorities can adopt following a robust justification process.
The building control sector continues to engage with government and other representative bodies and stakeholders on a number of initiatives that contribute to the safety of buildings. Interaction with the Fire Sector Federation (FSF) has seen the imminent publication of a revised procedural guide which defines the roles of Building Control Bodies and Fire Authorities in the building control process. In addition, valuable guidance has been issued on assessing fire safety measures in buildings that were subject to Local Act requirements which are no longer in existence.
Relationships and cooperation between private and public sector building control bodies are at a historic best, and the BCA has continued to produce valuable best practice technical guidance on many subjects.
In addition, the BCA provides a valued mediation service to help resolve procedural issues between the public and private sectors.
In economic terms, the sector has followed the rest of the construction industry in enjoying slow but steady growth. In the private sector this has resulted in significant growth in the number and size of Approved Inspectors providing new job opportunities contributing to the nation’s economic growth. This also provides us with the significant challenge faced by all in the construction sector of a skills shortage. Public and private sectors are again coming together to develop opportunities for school leavers and graduate apprenticeships and for utilising skills from other disciplines within the construction industry. Raising the profile of building control as a profession is key to this.
Public sector funding continues to be an issue for the building control community particularly when considering the challenge of enforcement of building regulations and the identification of uncontrolled work. It is hoped that initiatives in 2015 will start to address this issue.
Overall building control continues to be a vibrant and interesting place to be, delivering a valued service and effective compliance in terms of safe, accessible and efficient buildings. Bring on 2015. ■
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Paul Wilkins
Chief Executive at Butler and Young Group
Chairman at Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors (ACAI)
chairman@approvedinspectors.org.uk
