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 happened last week?

Supporting and driving up competence is what APS is all about, and that’s clear from our external engagement. This week started with broadening the stakeholder group that are engaged in the Industry Task and Finish Group (ITFG) on the management of competence in organisations. APS chairs the ITFG, who are working on consensus guidance for organisations managing the competence of individuals. The guidance under development in the ITFG complements ICC guidance also under development, which is focused on key principles of ‘what’ is expected from organisations when managing people, by outlining the ‘how to’ implement those same principles. More information about this work can be found here While our consultation on the ITFG draft document closed on Monday, we met with Caroline Hamilton, CEO of SAFed, to talk about how they can support the work so the guidance’s principles, can be applied in the broadest possible sense- we’re delighted they will be joining the ITFG and share their experience and expertise.

Right after that meeting, we shifted our focus from organisational competence to individual competence in Sector Led Group (SLG) 7 on project and programme management (this SLG is part of the wider Industry Competence Steering Group which is a working group of the statutory Industry Competence Committee). Having set the existing competence framework for its core subject area (Competence Framework for Project Managers in the Built Environment in England) , discussions were centring on how to drive up awareness of the existing competence framework, while exploring if additional frameworks were needed for other related disciplines in this area, such as project control and programme and portfolio management.

Monday’s APS’ external engagement was drawn to a close in the CIC’s 2050 group, the CIC collaborative group for young professionals focused on achieving a sustainable and inclusive built environment.

On Tuesday, APS’ CEO Andrew Leslie, was invited to a CEO update on all things Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The Group was called together by the BSR and Construction Leadership Council so that the BSR’s chair Andy Roe and CEO Charlie Pugsley could provide an update on next steps of the Regulator, in advance of the Minister’s Written Statement later that day in Parliament. More about that statement later. From the CEO session, Andrew went to the CIC Competence Task and Finish Group, where professional bodies within CIC are collaborating on common principles for professional bodies in relation to driving up competence – discussions touch on governance, competence and its assessment and CPD approaches. This work is being done, with APS support, in anticipation of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishing a paper that will address outstanding issues following their Response to the Grenfell-Phase 2 report. Members will remember that the Government Response had accepted all recommendations, including the regulation of certain professions.

Fellows play an important part in APS’ community, so it was good to see the lively discussion taking place in the Fellows' Forum meeting on Wednesday morning. The topics were wide ranging, APS HQ provided a regulatory update on all that is ongoing in the CDM and building regulations space, across the four nations. Gateway 3 guidance on submitting as built drawings was discussed in greater detail, as well as a brief update on the compliance plan approach in Scotland and the asbestos consultation from the HSE. The Fellows also talked about where they identified current competence gaps, and across which subject areas they thought APS could provide greater support. Any member wanting to get involved with the Fellows Forum can get in touch with Laura Hardie (Laura.Hardie@aps.org.uk)

As APS is a SSIP registered member, Andrew Leslie participated in the quarterly Full Forum meeting on Thursday, which brings many of its members together in a face to face meeting to discuss membership issues, SSIP metrics and Core Criteria and to field operational questions from members. APS Corporate Practice Membership provides assessments for the SSIP certified categories and ensures a supplier (Corporate Member) benefits from two-way mutual recognition with all other SSIP registered member schemes.

Later that day, Sofie Hooper, Deputy CEO, represented APS in CBP/1- the BSI’s competence committee for the built environment. Key points discussed for our members, where the potential review of PAS 8671, 8672 and 8673, which are due to take place in early 2026. The HSE also provided an update on recent research carried out around competence assessment schemes and registers, as part of their considerations for these schemes moving forward. APS’s feedback provided in our July meeting with the HSE, was reflected in their overview. The meeting also provided a useful overview of some of the other activity ongoing, including the development of a sustainability competence standard for the built environment (across the lifecycle of a building), and the anticipated launch of the knowledge hub for built environment competence standards in January. This hub is a collaboration between BSI and the ICSG, which will bring together in one place all the consensus-based competence standards developed in context of the Building Safety Act and BS8670-1. It will be possible to pre-register for the hub by the end of November, so watch this space! Other topics discussed were AI in professional bodies, the digital products passport and the probably licensing of fire risk assessors. Sofie was also invited to provide an update on the ITFG guidance work, which the BSI is looking at turning into a British PAS or standard.

We closed off a busy meetings week by attending the CIC Digital Forum session on Friday morning, which had good presentations on AI and legal risks, the alignment of data standards and the industrialisation of construction, which all gave food for thought on how we can share this knowledge with our members.

Recent output our members should know about

It seems that consultation season is in full swing- after the ICC consultation on the management of competence in organisations, and the ITFG consultation, we had hoped for a pause, but no rest for the wicket. Members should be aware of the consultation on asbestos launched by the HSE last week. The consultation, which closes on 9th January, includes 3 proposals to improve the application of the Control of Asbestos Regulations and guidance around asbestos management to help protect workers and building users.

The three proposals are:

• to ensure the independence and impartiality of roles in the four-stage clearance process to further minimise the risk of exposure from asbestos to workers and building users after the removal of asbestos

• to drive up the standard of asbestos surveys to ensure dutyholders have the information they need to safely manage asbestos risks

• to clarify the type of work that constitutes work with asbestos known as Notifiable Non-Licensed Work (NNLW)

APS is planning to submit feedback and is inviting comments from our expert community from across the UK by 8th December. Please get in touch with Sofie Hooper (sofie.hooper@aps.org.uk)

Another consultation of interest to our members is the consultation on Building Control- charges, notices and certificates. Closing on 25th January, this consultation covers proposals that will only have effect in England, seeking to deliver on several Grenfell Phase 2 report recommendations that have been accepted by Government.

The government’s proposals being consulted on are about reforming the charges regulations to enable LABCBs, and in one case, the BSR, to recover costs more fully than they can currently by allowing them to charge for more functions under the Building Act and Building Regulations. Government sees this as a key factor in facilitating the shared long-term and financially sustainable vision for local building control services. The Building Control Independent Panel (being led by Dame Judith Hackitt) may have further proposals about the funding of building control services, so further reforms to these regulations may be needed in due course.

The Government anticipates that the outcome will be a set of resilient and better resourced local building control services that are able to take the right safety-led decisions in the right timeframes.

Last week also saw a Written Statement by Building Safety Minister Samantha Dixon MBE MP on the future of the Building Safety Regulator. The Minister laid the Statutory Instrument that will establish the new Building Safety Regulator as an independent body, before Parliament. The Regulations, which are transferring the functions from the HSE to the new independent entity, will come into force on 27th January 2026. This is the beginning of a new chapter for the Building Safety Regulator, and an important next step towards implementing the remaining report recommendations. As mentioned above, more clarity about the shape of things to come should be provided in a few weeks’ time, when the Government publishes their prospectus for the new independent Regulator.

Finally, Andrew Leslie, contributes to the discussion on organisational competence in the recent feature published by Royal Institute of British Architects, helping shape perspectives on competence frameworks and guidance. https://www.riba.org/

His involvement further underscores how APS is engaged at the heart of key consultations and guidance-development across the sector.

What’s happening the week ahead?

The week ahead while quieter on the meeting front, is not less important. While preparations are being finalised for the APS Board meeting next week, Directors are attending the CIC Health and Safety meeting today, Monday, which will hopefully see them receiving an update on when we can expect the CDM Post-Implementation Review.

Andrew and Sofie are also preparing for a meeting with MHCLG’s dutyholding team on the regulation of professions and dutyholding roles, and what APS is doing in this space to support our members’ competence.

Sofie will be closing the week with a Steering Group of the ITFG, where the results of the recent consultation on the draft guidance will be discussed in detail for the first time, before participating in the CIC Liability Panel.