Building safety across the devolved nations

The Grenfell Tower fire has had profound impacts on approaches to building safety across the UK. While some elements of the Building Safety Act 2022 apply across the UK, most aspects of building safety are devolved, with specific building regulations and guidance in place in each UK nation.

This page will provide ongoing updates on changes outside England. Professionals should ensure that they are familiar with regulations and guidance across the jurisdictions in which they operate.

Key regulations and guidance can be found via the following links:

Scotland: Compliance planning and compliance plan managers

In January 2024, following the recommendations of the Review Panel on Building Standards Compliance and Enforcement, the Scottish Government announced a new approach to building standards compliance for High Risk Buildings (HRBs, defined as residential buildings over 11m tall, educational establishments, community/sports centres and hospitals).

Under the new approach, which launched for "early adopters" in March 2024, a Compliance Plan must demonstrate how the building owner, developer or other "relevant person" is managing the duties imposed on them by building regulations. This includes detailing the measures that will be in place to control the work on site, identifying required inspection stages and forming a basis for collation of evidence to deliver a competent building.

Plans must be provided at key points in the development of a building, including when certifying compliance with building regulations and when submitting a completion certificate. To manage the process, a new role of Compliance Plan Manager (CPM) will be established, with responsibility for preparation and submission of plans. CPMs will need to be appropriately registered in order to ensure oversight of their role and duties.

It should be noted that, as yet, there is no legislative basis for the CPM role, and so its exact remit and parameters are currently undefined. CIAT is working closely with the Scottish Government on the development of this role. At the same time, CIAT is working with RIAS, RICS and other professional bodies to develop a single, unified professional register for the role. CIAT anticipates that this may go live in 2026 or 2027 and will update members and affiliates in due course.

Members and affiliates interested in the role can learn more by attending this upcoming CIAT webinar, The new Compliance Plan approach, jointly run by CIAT Scotland West and Scotland East regions, which will be held on 14 January 2025 at 13:00.