High risk buildings - verification during construction: compliance plan approach - background and implementation

9. Implementation

The guidance set out in the introduction section above will be published in advance of legislative change. This provides an opportunity for verifiers and industry to test the Compliance Plan Approach (CPA) on live projects and provide feedback for consideration by Scottish Government.

It is an opportunity for local authorities and industry to demonstrate to Scottish Ministers that positive change is being implemented following high profile failures such as at Grenfell Tower.

Initial implementation of the CPA will be through guidance, which will be applicable until legislative change is enacted. During this period feedback from verifiers and industry is encouraged, and BSD is committed to evolving the guidance and approach.

This strategy builds on the CPA work taken forward under the Building Standards Futures Board, in a collegiate way, and aims to provide best practice guidance for implementation of legislative change.

In addition to legislating for a mandatory prewarrant stage, and engagement of competent CPM by RP’s, change is expected in the penalties applicable to those who commit offences under the Act.

Public consultation in 2023 - 2024 proposed to increase penalties for offences from £5000 to £50,000 and included a new sanction of up to two-year custodial sentence.

This is intended to act as a greater deterrent for those persons who undertake building work that does not meet the building warrant or Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

In terms of change management, industry, and in particular those procuring buildings, undertaking building work, or identified as RPs would be advised to familiarise themselves with the CPA, and follow the guidance when published.

The full role of CPM, with statutory duties and offences will not be implemented through these guidance stages. However, as RP’s have been encouraged since implementation of the Act in 2005 to engage competent professional advisors, it is expected that duly authorised Agents of the RP will continue to provide the interface between projects and the building standards system.

This would be valuable preparation for legislative change, where the CPA will become mandatory.

Implementation is expected as follows; -

1. Guidance for verifiers will be published as a replacement for the Verification During Construction (VDC) guidance, but only for defined High Risk Buildings (HRB). This local authority verifier guidance, to implement the principles of the Compliance Plan Approach to building warrant projects, will be published by December 2025.

2. Full CPA guidance for High risk Buildings, developed by March 2026 for voluntary adoption by industry and to inform future legislative change, will be published early 2026.

3. Legislative change to mandate the prewarrant application for CP, the engagement of the CPM, and amendments to enforcement and sanctions. Other supporting legislative change will be expected. Once legislative change is enacted, a suite of refreshed guidance will be delivered.