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?

• ICC Setting Expectations - Group 2 Clients meeting discussed the outcome of ICC Principles for Informed clients consultation feedback which was issued to key stakeholders and ran between 24th March and 5th May. The guide is intended for use by clients who have duties under the Building Safety Act and Building Regulations (England). The group discussed finalising the principles, priorities for developing the guide and next steps.

• On Tuesday, 19th May, a Building Safety Alliance trustees meeting took place to discuss next steps for the organisation. The Charity has been instrumental to date in raising several key issues onto the agenda of policy makers, also trying to raise awareness around competence requirements for dutyholders under the new Building Safety Regime.

• On Wednesday, APS’ CEO and DCEO met with the Scottish Building Standards Division (BSD) on the next phase for development of the Compliance Plan Approach (CPA). Guidance for industry and verifiers issued in January will be complemented imminently by further guidance for voluntary adoption by industry, while verifiers must follow the guidance. The BSD will also start organising forums which will support industry implementation of the CPA. Legislation will be needed to implement the Compliance Plan Manager role, yet a bill is currently not be expected before 2028. Until such time, work will be ongoing in the background to look at what the competence requirements would be for this role.

• An ICSG SLG 11 meeting took place on Thursday, 21st May - this is a meeting of the Industry Competence Steering Group – sector led group 11- that discusses in occupation issues, including building work. The meeting discussed recent changes on the terms of reference for the ICSG and appointed a new Chair – Chris Jeffers from Mott MacDonald. APS is part of the group to ensure the design risk management perspective is included.

• A meeting took place with some of APS’s Fellows to draft a response to the consultation on Proportionality in HRB building work- redefining Category A work. The consultation looked at various options to move types of higher-risk building work from category A documentation requirements to category B requirements. APS will submit its response this week, before the deadline. Last week, APS also submitted its response to the Government consultations on the White Paper on products and the General Safety Requirement. Thank you to our Fellows who shared their time and insight to feed into the various responses.

• CIC Professional Competence Task & Finish Group - The group brings various CIC members together to engage with the Government’s policy on the regulation of professions and to articulate the role of professional bodies in driving up competence. The Single Construction Regulator Prospectus highlighted the importance of this work, and last week’s publication of the call for evidence on the ‘professions strategy’ makes this work highly pertinent.

Recent updates members should know about

MHCLG publishes call for evidence on the Professions Strategy

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) last week published its long-anticipated call for evidence that will inform the development of a new strategy for all built environment professions, trades and occupations (the Professions Strategy). The call for evidence does not contain any policy proposals instead, it is seeking for evidence about the challenges affecting how people and organisations work across the sector. The document is structured around the core stages of a building’s lifecycle, seeking evidence on six key themes, including competence and accountability. APS will be engaging with this call for evidence. Please read more about it here

Building Control Independent Panel report, and other MHCLG documents published

Alongside the call for evidence, MHLCG also published a series of other important documents:

• Dame Judith Hackitt’s Building Control Independent Panel report and the Government’s response (England): while acknowledging the professionalism of building control professionals, the panel’s conclusion is that the current system, structures and arrangements around them cannot deliver the assurance, consistency and conflict-free oversight that the public deserves to ensure their health and safety. The Panel recommended short- and long-term reforms, the principles of which the Government has accepted while committing to more engagement.

• Progress report on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations (England): the report provides an update on Inquiry recommendations, expressing their ongoing commitment to implement all 58 recommendations. The Report also provides an update on wider reform.

• OPSS research papers on construction products: this paper details the evolution of the construction product regulatory landscape in the EU from December 1988 to July 2024, with four case studies to capture the industry perspective.

You can read more about the above reports and find the links here.

What’s coming up this week? (25 – 31 May)

Meetings APS is involved in this week include:

• Scottish Building Standards Division - Compliance Plan Working Group
• ICSG Principal Designer WG – this Industry Competence Steering Group working group is looking at the role of the Principal Designer Building Regulations and how it is currently being implemented across the sector
• BIM 4 Housing ‘As built information’ working group – they are looking at the consistent deliverables for as built documentation required at Gateway 3

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