Building standards verification services - performance and workforce: national annual report 2024-2025

4. Performance

4.1 Key Performance Outcomes (KPOs)

4.1.1 Key performance outcomes (KPOs) are used to monitor the work of building standards local authority verifiers.

4.1.2 The performance framework is used by verifiers to inform customers on performance levels and to identify and prioritise areas for improvement.

4.1.3 Reporting against the framework allows performance to be assessed and compared over time, identifying key trends which provide an evidence base for the effectiveness of aligning outcomes to meet key national objectives, which include:

• certainty of timescales in respect of decision making;
• reasonable inquiry of compliance during construction;
• management and assessment of building warrants and completion certificates;
• sharing of best practice;
• clear communication, provision of advice and open engagement; and
• understanding of needs and ‘open for business’ attitude.

4.1.4 The performance framework sets out the reporting criteria against each KPO and performance target. These measure service delivery and can be used to highlight good practice, see ‘Key Performance Outcomes (KPO) and national performance targets’.

Key Performance Outcomes (KPO) and national performance targets

Professional Expertise and Technical Processes

KPO1 Minimise time taken to issue a first report or to issue a building warrant or amendment to building warrant

1.1 95% of first reports (for building warrants and amendments) issued within 20 days – all first reports (including building warrants and amendments issued without a first report).

1.2 90% of building warrants and amendments issued within 10 days from receipt of all satisfactory information – all building warrants and amendments (not including BWs and amendments issued without a first report).

KPO2 Increase quality of compliance assessment during the construction processes

2.1 Targets to be developed as part of future review of KPO2.

Quality Customer Experience

KPO3 Commit to the building standards customer charter

3.1 National customer charter is published prominently on the website and incorporates version control detailing reviews (reviewed at least annually).

3.2 95% of BSD requests for information on a BSD ‘Verifier Performance Reporting Service for Customers’ case responded to by verifier within 5 days.

KPO4 Understand and respond to the customer experience

4.1 Minimum overall average satisfaction rating of 7.5 out of 10.

Operational and Financial Efficiency

KPO5 Maintain financial governance

5.1 Building standards verification fee income to cover indicative verification service costs (staff costs plus 30%).

KPO6 Commit to eBuilding Standards

6.1 Details of eBuilding Standards to be published prominently on the verifier’s website.

6.2 75% of each key building warrant related process being done electronically

• Plan checking
• Building warrant or amendments (and plans) being issued
• Verification during construction

Completion certificates being accepted

KPO7 Commit to objectives outlined in the annual verification performance report

7.1 Annual verification performance report published prominently on website with version control (reviewed at least annually).

7.2 Annual verification performance report to include performance data in line with KPOs and associated targets (annually covering previous year e.g. April 2024 – March 2025).

4.2 Performance Summary

4.2.1 The majority of verifiers have maintained their overall performance levels, providing consistency to the quality of services across Scotland, as shown in Chart 4.

4.3 Professional expertise and technical processes

KPO1 – Minimise time taken to issue a first report or to issue a building warrant or amendment to building warrant

4.3.1 The performance for issuing a first report (KPO1.1) and building warrant or amendment to warrant (KPO1.2) has remained steady during the 2022-23 to 2024-25 period, as shown in Chart 5.

KPO2 – Increase quality of compliance assessment during the construction processes

4.3.2 There are currently no performance targets set for KPO2 and a wider review is currently underway.

4.4 Quality customer experience

KPO3 – Commit to the building standards customer charter

4.4.1 All 32 verifiers have implemented and published the Building Standards National Customer Charter (KPO3.1). This is supplemented with their own local charters.

4.4.2 Verifier response times (KPO3.2) to requests for information for customers reporting performance concerns to Scottish Government have been met within the five day target, during the 2022-23 to 2024-25 period, as shown in Chart 6.

4.4.3 Verifiers have made improvements to the quality and consistency of information published on their websites which promotes better communication with building standards customers.

KPO4 – Understand and respond to the customer experience

4.4.4 The National Customer Satisfaction Survey of Building Standards customers has been conducted annually since 2013 by Scottish Government, in close partnership with local authorities.

4.4.5 A new digital platform was launched on 1 April 2022 to allow local authorities to collect and analyse customer feedback at the point of service, to support their ability to respond to the customer experience more effectively and in real time.

4.4.6 The overall National Customer Satisfaction rating for Scotland (KPO4) increased from 8.2 to 8.5 (exceeding the national target of 7.5) during the 2023-24 to 2024-25 period, as shown in Chart 7.

4.5 Operational and financial efficiency

KPO5 – Maintain financial governance

4.5.1 During the three year period, overall fee income saw a sharp increase during 2022-23 period which correlates with a rise in the Value of Works, which decreased back to average levels during 2023-24 to 2024-25, as shown in Chart 8.

4.5.2 Verification staff costs decreased by 2% during the three year period.

KPO6 – Commit to eBuilding Standards

4.5.3 Building Standards customers can submit electronic documents and payments directly to local authorities. The move towards digital services has been supported by Scottish Government’s eBuilding Standards platform and the number of applications submitted electronically has continued to rise, year on year, since the platform was launched in 2016.

4.5.3 The eBuilding Standards platform is used and promoted by all 32 local authority verifiers (KPO6.1) and the system facilitates continuous improvement towards fully digitised end-to-end processes, covering the whole customer journey (KPO6.2), as shown in Chart 9.

KPO7 – Commit to objectives outlined in the annual verification performance report

4.5.4 The Annual Verification Performance Reports are a strategic planning and management tool to link performance reporting to continuous improvement actions. Reports include information on the vision for each service and future strategy.

4.5.5 All 32 local authority verifiers have implemented and published their reports during the 2024-25 period (KPO7.1) as shown in Chart 10 and they publish performance data against each of the KPOs (KPO7.2) on their local authority websites.