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? 

After the external engagement of the previous week and the flurry of updates that took place over the summer, last week was more internally focused. 

• The Fellows met on Tuesday 15th September to discuss several priorities affecting them. The discussion also touched on the Fellow’s contribution to the Call for Evidence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Fellows had contributed significantly to APS’ contribution and during this meeting we discussed the implications of some of the policy positions put forward. Several themes emerging from the conference were also discussed, including how APS would engage with the broader information management policy agenda, a discussion prompted by the excellent presentation at APS’ Conference by Emma Hooper. You can read more about the discussion as reported by Fellows Forum Convenor Philip Baker in a newsitem you can find here. 

• On Wednesday, APS’ third Board meeting of the year took place, convening all Directors online, including to reflect on the conference and the AGM, and how we would plan for them next year. 
• APS was invited to a meeting with MHCLG around proportionality of the HRB gateway process under the Building Regulations. We will continue to feed into developments and update members as soon as possible.  

Recent updates that members should know about  

As Built & Handover information requirements – consultation   

An Industry Task and Finish Group, convened by the CLC Building Safety Group, Portfolio 4: Building Occupation, and industry technical experts BIM in Asset Management, have published guidance on the Occupied Sector’s expectations for accurate, trustworthy and complete building information at project completion. The APS has been feeding into this guidance as it will impact many APS members who are the ones who will be delivering the information required as part of the ‘As Built & Handover Information’. 

We would therefore strongly encourage our members to engage with this consultation. The guidance is currently being consulted on, with feedback welcomed until midday 16th October 2026. More information can be found here.

Cross Safety Report on Inappropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI) in structural design 

Over the summer, Cross published a report on inappropriate use of AI-generated calculations. The technical content appeared detailed and credible, yet was found to be fundamentally incorrect, creating a risk of structural overloading. Given the growing use of AI in design, we would encourage members to read this document, setting out the need for robust professional oversight and validation.

What’s coming up this week? (21- 27 September 2026) 

Meetings that APS is involved in this week include: 

• MHCLG update on the professions strategy.  

• Meeting with the Building Safety Regulator about Clients. 

We’ll continue to keep members updated on key developments and engagement across the sector through the APS weekly alert, the APS news page and across social media channels where appropriate. 

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