< Previous | Contents | Next >

CONSULTATION ON REGULATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE BUILDING (SCOTLAND) ACT

8 Building Standards Register

8.1 Maintenance of records

8.1.1 Section 24 of the Act requires local authorities to keep a Building Standards Register for the area of the authority containing information on:

• applications for warrant and amendments to warrants
• decisions on the applications
• submissions of Completion Certificates
• decisions on acceptance or rejection.

8.1.2 Specifically, any certificates from Approved Certifiers of design or construction submitted with warrants and Completion Certificates, any conditions relating to grants of warrants, and any continuing requirements imposed by warrant must be kept.

8.1.3 In addition, the procedure regulations require the following information to be kept on the register:

• enforcement notices
• an index of the principle drawings related to applications and submissions
• and for dwellings, an energy certificate (see paragraph 5.2.2)

Building Standards Assessments (when introduced) will not be recorded on the register, but any notices resulting from an assessment visit will be recorded.

8.1.4 To permit useful and accurate searching of the records, it is important to describe the work in a consistent and explicit way. The verifier when recording applications for transmission to the local authority register should take care to include relevant key words [and standard descriptions as published in the glossary issued by — yet to be decided]

8.2 Inspection of records

8.2.1 The Building Standards Register must be kept open for public inspection at all reasonable times. The procedure regulations expand on this requirement by specifying that the basic information and decisions must be kept in electronic format, accessible by the internet, and drawings, specifications, certificates, and other information must be available for inspection during normal office hours. Copies of documents should be made available, at a charge that recovers the local authorities’ costs. However drawings must be clearly stamped indicating that copyright restrictions must be observed. [Local authorities may also restrict access to certain drawings where there is a security concern — yet to be decided].

8.2.2 Where changes of local authority boundary occur, authorities should co-operate to transfer the relevant records, drawings and information to enable continued access to the information recorded in the register.

< Previous | Contents | Next >