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

Stage one ICIA outcomes and adjustment of proposals

43. The nature of building regulations is to impose change on existing practice and process. This is applied at a national level to address issues of national relevance affecting new development. Review is an opportunity to reinforce the challenges of delivering change but to also note the flexibility that is intended to be inherent in the building standards system.

44. It also provides the opportunity to recognise where change does need to better recognise context or local conditions.

• In the context of the recent consultation on the principles underpinning ‘a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard’, known issues were again raised, which are noted in section 36 & 47.
• Several new elements were identified that have not been subject to discussion in previous reviews of energy standards. Examples of these are the use of regional climate data and the potential to move from relative to absolute performance targets, discussed in sections 33 & 34.

45. It remains important to recognise that development on island communities is subject to different risks and constraints compared to many other parts of Scotland. These relate mainly to the challenges arising from remoteness of location which lead to higher costs, more limited options/solutions and risks of disruption to projects.

46. Following analysis of responses, there is no proposal to fundamentally alter the nature of the regulatory amendments now proposed. These regulatory changes do not, in themselves, create a situation where there is an obvious further risk to the delivery of development in island communities. Noting the necessary caveat identified below.

47. However the following actions, identified in previous reviews, continue to be relevant to moderate risks to development in island communities in developing detailed proposals for summer 2025:

• Cost of development. On confirmation of proposals, contribute to a robust assessment of the cost of change arising from proposed changes to inform any review of funding regimes for public sector development in island communities.
• Access to specialist services. Recognise the continued challenge in accessing some specialist construction services and consider flexibility in approach in the application of standards to accommodate this.

Consider options for effective risk management when testing and commissioning buildings. Use this further review to amend supporting guidance on building testing which remains a topic of development following confirmation of recent 2023 changes.

• Onward engagement. Recognise the need for a more effective forum within which to raise issues arising from the local application of national standards. Identify options to enable effective representation from island communities and from remote and rural communities in any forums which discuss the onward implementation and further review of these standards.

Engage with islands local authorities on the challenges of verification and enforcement of building regulations as part of ongoing work to develop the verifier workforce and supporting frameworks.