Just over 1,500 building control surveyors have begun the process of registering with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) as of 31 January, according to official figures – less than 40% of the whole profession.
By 6 April, all building control surveyors must be registered with the regulator, after passing a competency assessment.
The BSR estimates there are around 4,500 building control professionals in the UK (though some estimates have the number closer to 5,000) but their latest figures show that only 1,547 have begun the registration process.
The news follows a warning by Lorna Stimpson, chief executive of Local Authority Building Control (LABC), that the building control functions of many local authorities may cease because of the slow progress of registration.
In a letter to the government and the BSR, she said, “it appears that a significant number of building control professionals will not achieve successful certification, and therefore, registration before the 6th of April deadline”. Stimpson also called for a delay in the implementation of the registration of building control professionals by “at least six months”.
LABC’s Building Safety Competence Foundation (BSCF), along with the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) and Total Training Development Ltd, is one of three approved schemes that carry out building control competency assessments. These are evaluated against the building inspector competence framework.
Stimpson told CM: “We’ve got 2,500 somewhere in our system, and we expect about 900 will be certified by April, although obviously I am not able to comment on those going through the other two assessment bodies.”
BSR expects ‘significant’ rise in applications
A spokesperson for the BSR said that the number of building control registration applications “continues to increase daily”.
She added: “Our experience from the HRB register suggests we will see a significant increase in applications as the April 2024 registration deadline approaches.
“The registration process is a vital first step in establishing building control as a regulated profession.
“It is imperative for the sector to understand that building control professionals who do not register with the Building Safety Regulator by the April deadline will not be able to continue to work in building control.
“We strongly urge professionals in the sector to ‘take action now’. If they have not already, it is crucial that they decide which assessment scheme they will go through, register for it promptly, and prepare for the assessment as soon as possible. We also advise discussing their plans with their employers to make sure they are registering for assessment at the appropriate level.”
