APS has increased its sector-wide engagement to better support members in developing and maintaining professional competence. Each week, we’ll share an update from APS HQ so you can see the breadth of work being carried out for your benefit.

What’s been happening?

• Sofie Hooper, APS DCEO and convenor for BS 8770, kicked off the development process for this new British Standard. BS 8770 will become a code of practice for managing individuals’ competence in organisations, using the Industry Task and Finish Group guidance (ITFG) as its seed document. Many of the contributors to the ITFG guidance are also supporting the BS project, which ensures a good representation from across the sector - small and large companies, private and public sector, etc.
• On Thursday, Sofie also presented the recently published ITFG guidance alongside the Industry Competence Committee and Building Safety Regulator during a BSI webinar which covered the management of competence in organisations and product-related competences. The webinar took place on their dedicated Built Environment Competence Hub.

Recent updates that members should know about 

Welsh Government publishes new suite of guidance 

With the new Welsh building safety regime coming into force on Wednesday 1 July 2026, a new suite of guidance was published on the Welsh Government website that supports the implementation of the new building control regime. The guidance provides further clarity on key requirements and processes.

• Higher-risk buildings: various guidance for determining if a building falls under the HRB scope Higher-risk buildings: guidance | GOV.WALES
• Design and building work: guidance on meeting building requirements, including the Building Regulations and duties covered for various dutyholders, including the Principal Designer: Design and building work: meeting building requirements | GOV.WALES There is a dedicated section on competence requirements, including on individuals, organisational capability and principal designers. The latter guidance refers to PAS 8671 and it also makes reference to how professional bodies can support the improvement, demonstration, and validation of competence.
• Lapse of building control approval: Lapse of building control approval | GOV.WALES
• Transitional arrangements for the new building control regime starting 1 July 2026: Transitional arrangements for the new building control regime starting on 1 July 2026 | GOV.WALES

Landlord and agent guidance to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) published (England)

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is a tool that is used to identify and assess risks to the health and wellbeing of people in their own home, whether rented or owned. It is based on the notion that all residential premises should provide a safe and healthy environment for any occupier or visitor.

The recently published guidance is aimed at landlords and property-related professionals. It provides a summary of the HHSRS, how it works and how the system is enforced. APS members may find it useful to refer client landlords to this guidance when working with them. The guidance can be found here.

What’s coming up this week? (6-12 July 2026)

Meetings that APS is involved in this week include:

• ‘As built information’ Task and Finish Group - what ‘as built information’ should be submitted at Gateway 3? This group is seeking to come up with an industry consensus definition about what ‘as built information’ is, what information should be provided and how that information should be validated.

We’ll continue to keep members updated on key developments and engagement across the industry as plans for 2026 take shape.

If you would like to contribute or share expertise on issues that matter to you, please contact APS HQ at info@aps.org.uk.