Update on the Scottish Compliance Plan Approach

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The Compliance Plan Approach (“CPA”) is being introduced in Scotland for ‘higher-risk buildings’ (“HRBs”), in response to recommendations of the 2018 Review Panel on Building Standards Compliance and Enforcement.

The CPA and its operation in Scotland (including the definition of HRBs) will be developed via guidance and future legislation.  Notably the CPA will be different to the building safety regime (including the scope of HRBs) in England via the Building Safety Act 2022 and associated legislation. For more details and background to the CPA see our article here.

New guidance on the Scottish Compliance Plan Approach

The Scottish Government has published recent guidance to support the implementation of Phase 1 of the CPA. The guidance clarifies that the objective is to: 

• allow local authority verifiers to become familiar with the CPA in advance of mandatory requirements being set through legislation; 
• provide feedback; and 
• assist in the effective introduction of strengthening of building standards compliance. 

This guidance is still expressly described as Phase 1 implementation guidance, rather than the full CPA regime anticipated in Phase 2, but it contains a number of important developments.

• The guidance sets out additional steps that design teams and contractors should follow when preparing and submitting building warrant applications, through to the submission of completion certificates for HRBs, to deliver the CPA. This includes more clarity on the “process map” for the CPA as follows:
  • Step 1 – Prewarrant stage
  • Step 2 – Building warrant application
  • Step 3 – Building warrant granted and compliance plan issued
  • Step 4 – Construction stage
  • Step 5 – Completion stage. 

While many of the steps reflect activities already undertaken as part of the existing building standards process, the CPA formalises how compliance is planned, recorded and evidenced throughout a project. Design teams and contractors should therefore expect increased scrutiny of compliance management arrangements from the earliest stages of project development.

• The guidance stresses that the CPA processes are based on actions undertaken in the current Building Standards system. It notes that “the purpose of the CPA is to demonstrate the duty imposed on the relevant person to certify compliance with building regulations is being managed…robustly at both the design and construction stages to deliver a compliant completed building”.
  
  
• From 1 April 2026 verifiers are expected to apply the verifier guidance to all new-build HRB warrant applications meeting the “major work” definition and to cladding remediation work requiring a building warrant for major work to existing HRBs. Application of the guidance to all other major work to HRBs will start from 1 January 2027 and legislative change is anticipated from 2026 – 2031 to mandate the CPA and to introduce the Compliance Plan Manager role.
  
  

Further development of the CPA

It has been reported that the Early Adopters Scheme which has been in operation received positive feedback (as reported at a Building Standards Futures board meeting here in June 2026), with verifiers reporting that the CPA improves communication and confidence in the compliance process. 

This feedback also highlighted some misunderstandings of existing roles and responsibilities and expectations across the construction process which have identified the need for further communication and engagement to strengthen the system. In addition, the Building Standards Division will work with Scottish Futures Trust to undertake a formal review of the CPA after 6 months of implementation. 

Overall, the publication of the Phase 1 CPA guidance marks an important milestone in Scotland's ongoing programme of building standards reform. Although the full regime including the proposed Compliance Plan Manager role is still under development, the guidance provides valuable insight into the direction of travel and the heightened focus on demonstrating compliance throughout the lifecycle of HRB projects.

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