More than 4,000 building inspectors registered after accreditation deadline passes

The Building Safety Regulator has published figures revealing that more than 4,000 building inspectors have become registered.

Professionals in the sector had been given until 6 July to complete competency assessments and join the register or else lose the right to practise.

Fears of a collapse in the ability of building control to be carried out earlier this year had led to a 13-week extension period, with the original deadline having been set as 6 April.

In total, 4,049 building professionals were registered as building inspectors in England and Wales.

This included 516 registered at Class 4 (Building Inspector - Technical Manager), which is the highest level.

Ged Cooper, head of building control professional standards at the BSR, said: “We are encouraged by this steady increase in numbers and are pleased to see a consistent level of success in Class 2 and Class 3 and it’s heartening that a high proportion are also Class 4 technical managers. We expect to see this positive progress continue.”

He said the extension granted showed the BSR’s commitment to “a supportive regulatory environment” and demonstrated its focus on “being a fair and pragmatic regulator”.

>>See also: Race against time: Are we heading for a building control inspection crisis?

The BSR also allowed a limited number of professionals who had completed their competency assessment process by the 6 July deadline, but were awaiting their results, to continue to undertake the restricted activities for which they had completed the assessment process.

The BSR is now looking to ensure that building control bodies, public and private, have sufficient resourcing to carry out their role.

Cooper said the BSR had now begun “investigations and inspections” of building control bodies, asking for “assurance with evidence to demonstrate that they have sufficient resources to deliver their regulatory duties and responsibility”.

“The profession is entering a new transformative era, with unified, consistent standards making it a positive career choice,” he said. 

“Enhanced professional standards will lead to stronger compliance with building regulations. Improved practices will set high standards as the norm, not the exception.

“Looking at the landscape ahead, the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of building control activities are set to significantly improve”.