High risk buildings - verification during construction: industry guidance

4. Introduction

In response to the failings in the construction of Edinburgh school buildings and the fire at Grenfell Tower, London, a Scottish Government Review Panel on Building Standards Compliance and Enforcement was set up.

The Review Panel identified that the building standards system in Scotland was not broken but needed to be strengthened, including compliance with mandatory building standards and the pre-emptive nature of the Scottish system, where technical approval is required from appointed building standards verifiers, before work can legally start on site.

As part of this work, a new Compliance Plan Approach (CPA) is being developed in response to the recommendations made by the Review Panel. This work is also intended to implement elements of Scottish Governments response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 recommendations.

The model on how to progress this work has been supported by research, public consultation and industry engagement.

The CPA is designed to:

• Minimise the risk of completed buildings failing to comply with the building regulations and the building warrant approved plans and details.
• Increase compliance with building warrant process legislative requirements (procedural compliance) to support the delivery of safe compliant buildings and the legal use/occupation of buildings.
• Support the relevant person (normally the building owner/developer) to control the work on site to build in accordance with the approved building warrant plans and the building regulations to deliver a compliant building and be able to evidence this; and,
• Ensure the planned verification inspections, checks and evidence within the approved building warrant Compliance Plan (CP) are fully achieved.

Building Standards Division undertook an initial pilot trial of the CPA with Fife Council and BAM Contracts during the development of the Dunfermline Learning Campus (2023/2024). This was followed by setting up an Early Adopters trial scheme in 2024, which is currently ongoing and covers four projects.

The background and overview of the CPA is fully described in the Compliance Plan Approach – Background and Implementation document.^[9]

The stages of implementation of the CPA are anticipated as follows: -

• Introduction of Local Authority Verifier guidance to implement the principles of the Compliance Plan Approach to building warrant projects - December 2025. Verifiers are expected to use this guidance from 1 April 2026 following the phasing detailed in the introduction.
• Full Compliance Plan Approach for High Risk Buildings developed for voluntary adoption by industry and to inform future legislative change - March 2026. Industry should follow the phasing detailed in the introduction for verifiers.
• Legislative change to mandate the CPA for defined building types – anticipated during the parliamentary term 2026 – 2031.
• Introduction of guidance to implement the CPA for all projects in a risk based scheme following legislative change.