Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024: island communities impact assessment

Objectives

19. The purpose of this review is to consider changes to the requirements and processes set within The Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Changes under consideration are to introduce updates within Scottish building regulations and supporting guidance to define a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard. The intent is that these changes will deliver two outcomes:

• Improvements to the setting of energy and environmental (ventilation) performance and standards for new buildings, leading to lower energy demand (and reduced running costs) and a healthy indoor environment; and
• Improvements to the design and construction process to give greater assurance that compliance, and therefore the performance sought, is delivered in practice.

20. This Impact Assessment considers the first of two stages in the review which will consider the technical, commercial and wider policy implications of improvements to energy and environmental standards in the context of broader action by the Scottish Government on climate change, to further our ambition of becoming a net-zero society by 2045.

21. This ICIA is updated to reflect the laying of amendments to building regulations by 14 December 2024 which will give effect to Mr Rowley’s Bill proposal.

22. The responses to the recent consultation on the principles of the new standard will inform the development of secondary consultation will be launched in Summer 2025 on detailed proposals for the non-legislative aspects of new standards, including amended guidance and supporting compliance tools. A further ICIA will be developed in support of that process and published alongside confirmed changes to updated Technical Handbooks and approved compliance tools.

23. It is important to note that the impact of the confirmed regulatory changes cannot be easily assessed and will therefore be reported on in detail following engagement with island communities on the detail of proposals within the second consultation.