Building standards - Futures Board Programme: workstream information

Certification strategy workstream

The Review Panel on building standards compliance and enforcement identified the need for:

• 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

Certification was introduced in the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, with the option of certifying design or the construction of building work as complying with the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. The certification scheme is based on the principle that suitably qualified and experienced building professionals and tradespeople can be responsible for ensuring that specified works comply with the building regulations.

The objective of the strategy is to expand the use of certification in the Scottish building standards system and increase the areas of design and construction open to certification. Increasing the use of certification supports compliance with building regulations and provides more capacity within the building standards system.

Certification scheme providers were re-appointed in October 2020 for a period of six years. Quarterly meetings with the providers are held to provide the opportunity for joint working. A self-assessment process against the operating framework, agreed to on appointment was undertaken in 2023. The 2024 exercise took place in June. This process will be used to inform the audit schedule that will begin in autumn 2024.

A Certification Working Group has been set up and met in June 2024 to support the review of certification and to inform decisions on how best to develop certification. We will commission research later in 2024 to support this work and this will be used to inform a programme of work over the next 18 to 24 months.