Building standards - operating and performance frameworks for verifiers: research summary

1. Evolution of the operating and performance frameworks

The building standards verification system in Scotland launched on 1 May 2005 and Scottish Ministers appointed local authority verifiers for an initial six-year period. Verifiers submitted an annual ‘balanced scorecard’ to the Building Standards Division (BSD) which enabled their progress against the scorecard to be measured. BSD adopted an audit-based approach, which helped to identify inconsistencies in service delivery (e.g. relating to the verification process of Reasonable Inquiry), in turn affecting the predictability of service across the 32 local authority areas.

A new performance framework (PF) was developed in partnership between BSD and Local Authority Building Standards Scotland (LABSS) and introduced in 2012. It allowed the assessment of building standards performance through the lens of three core perspectives (each incorporating Key Performance Outcomes (KPOs)) and three cross-cutting themes.

The PF set out to improve compliance with the building regulations, particularly during construction, improve customer engagement, place greater focus on peer review and benchmarking, and encourage the sharing of best practice between local authorities. It was also intended that the PF would allow BSD to undertake more frequent performance monitoring than the auditing regime had hitherto allowed and inform the next verifier appointment period from 2017. The PF is further supported by annual verification performance reporting.

Pye Tait Consulting’s 2016 evaluation of the performance of local authorities in their role as building standards verifiers identified that the PF was generally well received and considered beneficial for improving consistency, comparability, transparency and accountability. However, feedback pointed to a need to reconsider certain aspects of performance measurement, for example setting defined performance targets rather than creating ratings for each local authority in relation to the national average.

The 2016 evaluation report also noted that, despite an absence of national criteria or minimum standards relating to the four ‘considerations for verifier appointment’, i.e. that they should be suitably qualified, competent, impartial and accountable to the public, verifiers were generally confident that they met such conditions. However, BSD identified a need to better identify key risks, put controls in place to manage those risks and how they were applied in working practice.

BSD determined that a verification Operating Framework (OF) should be put in place setting out the broad functions of verifiers and considerations for appointment, including what verifiers must adhere to, have in place, maintain and demonstrate, and any terms for verifier appointment, from May 2017 onwards.

This resulted in the development of the first iteration of the OF and a revised version of the PF, effective from April 2017. Both tools have since been the subject of incremental updates to inform the latest (2024) editions as of the time of writing. For example, the PF has seen some changes to the detail of the KPOs and how they are measured, and the OF has been updated to incorporate more detail on competence assessment.

BSD has committed to undertaking a periodic three-year review of the OF and PF to ensure they both remain fit for purpose. To undertake this work, BSD has established a Review Group consisting of representatives from small, medium and large local authority verifiers, LABSS, and representatives from across the construction industry.

The aim of the Review Group is to review and consider the recommendations for changes to the frameworks emerging from work under the Futures Board workstreams to ensure the frameworks remain fit for purpose.

BSD is undertaking its current review of the OF and PF in two phases:

• Phase I – Minor review to reflect fees amendments: October 2023 – March 2024, published and changes in force by 1 April 2024 (complete)
• Phase II – Full review and wider improvements: April 2024 – March 2025, published and changes in force by 1 April 2026.