Building standards - verifiers: professional competency framework

3.0 Objectives

Background

3.1 The construction and built environment sector is understood to be one of a number of higher risk industries and sectors where regulatory oversight is deemed necessary. Building Standards is one such sector and delivery against this objective is achieved through the establishment of the building standards system in Scotland.

3.2 The building standards system in Scotland is established by the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Act). The 32 local authorities in Scotland are appointed by Scottish Ministers as verifiers to administer the building standards system in their geographical areas. The appointment as a verifier is made on the condition that local authorities meet the requirements of the Operating Framework and Performance Framework.

3.3 The primary function of verifiers is to protect the public interest by providing an independent check of applications for building warrant to construct or demolish buildings, to provide services, fittings or equipment in buildings, or to convert buildings. This includes checking the design before granting a building warrant and checking during construction before accepting a completion certificate.

Framework

3.4 This Professional Framework sets out the specification for the expected competence of individuals involved in assessing compliance with applicable building regulations and associated legislation.

3.5 The specific objectives of the Professional Framework are as follow:

• To provide a single framework for all building standards professionals
• To enable validation and revalidation of the competence of individuals using the framework
• To further support a professional culture of personal improvement and development within the building standards profession
• To further support effective career development pathways for all building standards professionals
• To enable differentiation of the level of competence of building standards professionals