Building Standards
Certification Customer Survey
March 4, 2025 by Simon Moore 1 Comment | Category Building Standards, certification, Futures Board
This year (2025) marks 20 years of certification in Scotland. As part of the Futures Board Programme Building Standards Division are carrying out a survey of customers using certification to understand how the system is working. We are also looking for suggestions on how the system can be improved to help support a strengthened building standards system.
The Building (Scotland) Act 2003, introduced the option of certification of design or construction of building work as a means of showing compliance with the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. The Act allows suitably qualified and competent professionals and tradespersons, who become certifiers of design and construction, to certify that the specified work they undertake is compliant with the building regulations. Certifiers play an important role in the building standards system and there are currently six schemes covering: building structures, energy, electrical installations and drainage, heating and plumbing.
The use of certificates of design and construction bring benefits to the building warrant process supporting quicker processing of building warrants and completion certificates together with a reduction in the building warrant fee. Compliance with building regulations and quality assurance is offered to customers with the work being assessed and inspected by an individual whose work is subject to audit as part of the certification scheme.
The Futures Board provides guidance, advice and support on implementing the recommendations made by the expert review panels on Compliance & Enforcement and Fire Safety in 2018, following the Grenfell Tower fire and construction failings in public buildings in Scotland. Certification is one of four workstreams being taken forward and to support this work a Certification Working Group has been established. The working group encompasses stakeholders from across the construction industry together with all the scheme providers. The Group is seeking to deliver:
- more suitably qualified professionals and tradespeople delivering work through certification schemes
- a growth in the use of certification schemes to bring the benefits of certification to more projects in Scotland
- a growth in the number of certification schemes to bring the benefits of certification to a broader range of work, particularly safety-critical elements of construction
- the contribution of certification towards the delivery of higher standards of buildings in Scotland
If you have used certification as part of a building warrant application, we would like to hear from you!
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the Scottish system appears to be working well but we do need to ensure it is fit for purpose. Also ensuring that there is enough new professions to do the job.