WIREDGOV

To undertake a cost-benefit assessment of the CPM role on high-risk building types.

Executive Summary

Introduction

The building standards system in Scotland is intended to ensure that building work on both new and existing buildings results in buildings that meet reasonable standards. The building standards system is pre-emptive and operates in two phases – design and construction. Applications for building warrants are made at the design stage and the granting of the warrant confirms that the proposed building meets the current building regulations. On completion of the building work, the owner/developer makes a completion certificate submission confirming that the work is complete and complies with the approved building warrant and the building regulations.

In recent years, a number of events have focused awareness on how buildings are designed, constructed and procured. These include:

• The Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017.
• The collapse of part of an external wall in Oxgangs primary school in Edinburgh in 2016 and the subsequent discovery of similar defects in 16 other schools.
• The closure of the DG One leisure centre in Dumfries in 2014 following identification of a range of defects arising throughout the building.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire, a Ministerial Working Group (MWG) on Compliance and Enforcement was established and it concluded that compliance needs to be considered from the inception of a project to its completion.

Compliance Plan and Compliance Plan Manager

A Compliance Plan (CP) for complex and high-risk public buildings is being introduced to reduce the risk of non-compliance by improving oversight and identifying how the project will be carried out to minimise the risk of non-compliance. A Compliance Plan Manager (CPM) will be appointed to monitor and gather evidence to provide the necessary assurances that the buildings, as constructed and completed, are compliant with the approved building warrant and the building regulations.

Click here for the full press release