The new Compliance Plan Approach (CPA) has been developed in response to the recommendations made by the 2018 Review Panel on Building Standards Compliance and Enforcement. The Review Panel was formed by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety set up following failings in the construction of Edinburgh school buildings and the fire at Grenfell Tower, London. The Review Panel identified that the building standards system in Scotland was not broken but needed to be strengthened, including compliance with building regulations.
Frank Doherty, Team Leader at the Scottish Government’s Building Standards Division will provide a presentation covering:
- An overview of the Compliance Plan Approach (CPA) – a key initiative aimed at strengthening compliance in building standards.
- Introduction to new guidance documents – these outline the steps that local authority building standards verifiers will need to follow when processing building warrant applications and completion certificates for defined High Risk Buildings (HRBs), from springtime, 2026.
- Purpose of the guidance – to support the implementation of Phase 1 of the CPA ahead of it becoming a legal requirement, (anticipated to be introduced following next years Scottish Parliament elections).
- Voluntary adoption of the CPA by industry – how industry can assist in trialling the CPA and provide feedback to assist with the development of future legislation.
Overall, this training will help professionals understand the upcoming requirements and prepare for future statutory obligations.
Under the forthcoming guidance, the CPA will replace the current use of Construction Compliance Notification Plans (CCNPs). At present, CCNPs are issued with building warrants to advise applicants or developers when they must notify verifiers at specific stages of work, allowing verifiers to inspect those stages.
The new CPA process will formalise and strengthen this system by setting out defined steps and responsibilities for verifiers and applicants when handling building warrant applications and completion certificates for High Risk Buildings (HRBs). This ensures a more structured and accountable approach to compliance monitoring.
This new national guidance has been developed by Scottish Government Building Standards Division (BSD) in collaboration with a Local Authority Building Standards Verifier Working Group and the Scottish Building Standards Hub (SBSH).
