The UK Government has issued a Call for Evidence on the Professions Strategy, a key step towards a new built environment workforce strategy due in Spring 2027.

This is a major opportunity for APS members to influence Government directly on how they will support:

• The role of the Principal Designer (CDM and Building Regulations) and the Client Advisor
• Competence and capability across the full building lifecycle
• The real challenges impacting delivery, safety, and outcomes in practice

Members have already told us that there are important issues to raise around:

• Competence expectations and how the lack of clarity around competence or the lack of mandatory assessment against consensus competence standards has impacted the quality of work being performed by bad actors
• Client expectations and how best to support clients to deliver their duties
• The effectiveness of current regulatory approaches and what Government could do better to incentivise competence and drive culture change

Government really wants to hear from you direct, they want to hear your lived experience around:

• Your role – whether the PD role under CDM, PD Building Regulations, CDM Client Advisor or even BR Advisor
• The challenges you face in delivering your responsibilities
• Views on how Government can improve competence, conduct and culture, and accountability and personal responsibility

View the consultation here – you can respond by completing the online survey, until 12^th August.

There are many questions - please focus only on those where your expertise lies and ideally those on the cross-cutting issues at the back of the document. Even only answering just a few will be very helpful.

APS will submit its response by 12^th August, but Government has been clear they want to hear from practitioners first and foremost.