Paul Wilkins, Chair of the ACAI provides an update to the latest developments within building control and the role of Approved Inspectors in this increasingly politicised arena…
These are indeed interesting times for us in the building control world with a number of new initiatives, political interest in our role, and a strategic review of the building control process. In addition, in the private sector, we have seen further improvements to the registration process.
The Housing Standards Review (HSR) has now been implemented and appears to be getting off to quite a slow start. Despite a number of initiatives by DCLG, building control and planning representatives and professional bodies, to publicise the implementation, the level of awareness amongst planners and housing developers is still quite low. It will be interesting to see how this develops as awareness increases and Local Plans are reviewed.
There does seem to be a political will to expand the HSR principle of ‘optional’ building regulations supporting planners by further migrating technical requirements from the planning to the building control process. It may even spread from housing to the commercial sector.
June saw two Parliamentary Questions in the House of Commons regarding the role of Approved Inspectors in the development of new housing. This was followed by an adjournment debate in the House on the 20th November titled ‘Quality of new build housing and the role of the approved inspector’. The Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors (ACAI) positively and effectively engaged with the MP’s involved, helping to clarify the role of building control bodies and addressing mutual concerns with the building control process.
Subsequently the All Party Parliamentary Group on Excellence in Built Environment has raised the issue of quality in new build housing and has called for evidence to be provided by the end of October 2015.
The ACAI, and no doubt the wider building control community will be fully engaging this process providing evidence as to how the building control process currently contributes to delivering quality, and making suggestions on how this process may be more effective.
Alongside this, following the election of the new government the Building Regulations Advisory Council (BRAC) is carrying out a thorough strategic review of the building control process. Key points of discussion will include aligning the dual building control processes operated in the private and public sectors and reviewing transparency, accountability, independence, and duty of care of building control bodies.
Approved Inspectors have seen a further improvement in the robustness of the registration system by the incorporation of peer to peer audits in the registration and re-registration process. The registration body CiCAIR have also announced a fundamental review of the Code of Conduct for Approved Inspectors.
All of these initiatives and processes provide us in the building control world with an opportunity to positively contribute to raising standards, driving improvements in the efficiency of the building control process, and further align service delivery on the outcomes that building owners and users need, demonstrating the ongoing value that we provide to customers, the construction industry, government and wider society. ■
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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
