Scottish Government

Scottish Minister's re-appointed all 32 Scottish Local Authorities as verifiers under section 7 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 on the 1 May 2011. This further period of appointment is for six years ending April 2017.

It is expected that all verifiers during this period will continue to improve their respective services against an agreed improvement agenda. Verifiers will be subject to regular monitoring and periodic inspection under a new performance framework developed by Scottish Government and launched in May 2012. The intention of the performance framework is to improve the quality of the verification service delivery as well as take forward the compliance with building regulations agenda to ensure consistency and predictability of verification activities.

The Verifiers Role

The principal role of the verifier is to grant building warrants once they are satisfied that the design will satisfy the expanded functional standards introduced by the Act.

• Verifiers should be impartial and their working practices transparent;
• Verifiers should be competent and consistent in their activity;
• Verifiers must be accountable for their actions.

In order to meet this requirement each verifier is required to fully implement the new performance framework within the agreed timescales.

The Scottish Government Building Standards Division has been appointed to monitor Local Authorities as Verifiers.