Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee report from its inquiry into the building standards verification processes concluded that there needed to be more homebuyer support, including for a Clerk of Works to become a ‘familiar face’ on building sites.
Scottish Parliamentary notes:
On 1 February 2017, the Local Government and Communities Committee agreed to undertake an inquiry into the building standards verification process. This work contributes towards the Committee’s strategic priority No.2: The planning system and meeting the needs of communities for housing, place making and other developments.
The Committee issued a call for written views on 7 February 2017, which closed on 28 February 2017 having received 33 responses. In addition, an online survey was launched by the Committee which attracted 1,072 responses. The written views, summary of written views and the analysis of the online responses can be found online.
Any inquiry of this type is more likely to receive evidence about what can be improved following people’s negative experiences than what has gone well. The Committee therefore acknowledges that for many people their experiences of building standards are positive. In order to understand people’s experiences, the Committee held a informal meeting with individuals who had used the building warrants process, followed by two evidence sessions in May and June 2017. Details of who participated in the Committee meetings, Agendas, Minutes and Official Reports can be found online. The Committee thanks all those who have contributed to its work.
The Committee’s initial work into, and interest in, the issue of building regulations and the verification process was focused on complaints from a number of individuals relating to private house builders. However, during the course of our inquiry, our work has been catalysed as a result of two events. Firstly, the publication of the Report on the Independent Inquiry into the Construction of Edinburgh Schools by Professor John Cole CBE (hereafter referred to as the Cole Report), published in February 2017, which made a series of recommendations which are relevant to the Committee’s inquiry. Secondly, the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in London led to the Committee agreeing on 21 June 2017 to widen its ongoing scrutiny of building regulations in Scotland to include the fire safety aspects of these regulations.
This report sets out the key issues arising from the Committee’s work from February to June as well as the evidence taken in September 2017 with the purpose of informing the chamber debate that we have sought in Autumn 2017. This proposed debate will give all members of the Scottish Parliament an opportunity to consider the issues raised in this report and the latest developments following both the Cole Report and the investigations underway in Scotland after the tragedy at Grenfell Tower.
In this report the Committee makes recommendations and poses key questions on which MSPs’ views are sought. We will consider the views received as part of our final consideration of building regulations and fire safety issues.
It is also intended that the issues raised in this report and those raised in the debate will inform the work of the Ministerial Working Group on building and fire safety established on 21 June 2017 by the Scottish Government to examine building and fire safety regulations.
The Committee will then keep developments in the Ministerial Working Group under review. The Committee expects the Scottish Government to continue to keep it updated on the progress of the Working Group and the recommendations it agrees to.
The Committee notes that the recommendations of the Cole Report relating to schools buildings have been considered as part of a separate inquiry by the Education and Skills Committee, culminating in the publication of its 11th report 2017 entitled School Infrastructure.
