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

4. Performance framework main strengths

Review Group members interviewed for this research generally consider the PF to be a useful and valuable tool, helping to set out clear expectations of local authority verifiers and promoting fairness, consistency and comparability.

Having been embedded now for many years, the PF is considered important in helping verifiers know what is expected of them and therefore providing predictability; as well as being a tool to identify local performance strengths and areas for improvement.

Verifiers responding to the online feedback tool emphasised the value of comparison between services which can help with sharing of good practice, as well as promoting transparency. Several also mentioned that the PF sets high standards, helps to ensure quality of service, encourages resource monitoring, and helps local authorities to identify areas for improvement.

It is recognised that the PF can also help BSD to identify where local authorities may have disproportionate workloads relative to those of a similar size/geography or help to identify those affected by resourcing and capacity issues.

One Review Group member praised the PF as being a more robust system than equivalent frameworks used by other local authority services in Scotland.