Scotland’s new High Risk Building regime: preparing for the Compliance Plan Approach
The Scottish Government has published guidance on the operation of its new Compliance Plan Approach (CPA), a strengthened building control process intended for use on High Risk Buildings (HRBs).
Although currently voluntary, the CPA is designed to inform future legislative change and forms part of the Scottish Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Phase 2 recommendations. Those recommendations include a requirement to revisit and define the “high‑risk” category by May 2026 in anticipation of new statutory controls.
This article outlines what the CPA involves, how it differs from the emerging regimes in England and Wales, and the practical implications for developers, owners and project teams.
A phased, “test‑before‑implementation” approach
The Government’s intention is that verifiers and industry participants begin applying CPA principles in practice over the coming year. The newly issued guidance encourages local authority verifiers to trial the approach on live projects and provide feedback before any mandatory regime is introduced.
This early testing phase seeks to avoid the implementation challenges seen in England following the introduction of the new building control regime in October 2023, where parts of the industry felt underprepared despite lengthy consultation and draft regulations.
Which buildings and works fall in scope?
Unlike the prescriptive definitions used in England and Wales, Scotland’s proposed HRB criteria allow greater discretion. The CPA will apply to major works involving:
- Domestic or residential buildings taller than 11 metres
- Educational, community, and sports buildings
- Non‑domestic public buildings under local authority control
- Hospitals
- Residential care buildings.
The regime may later extend to other project types such as stadia or shopping centres.
“Major works” are defined by their impact on life safety, taking into account:
- complexity and scale
- value of the works
- evacuation and escape characteristics
- presence of vulnerable occupants
- cladding alterations or installations.
The relevant local authority verifier decides whether a building warrant proposal constitutes major works for CPA purposes, and will label qualifying projects with the prefix “HRB”.
This flexible, risk‑based approach may better capture project‑specific hazards, but it also introduces uncertainty. The absence of a single statutory definition means that application may vary between local authorities, raising the potential for inconsistency.
What is new about the Compliance Plan Approach?
The CPA does not replace Scotland’s existing building warrant system but seeks to ensure that it operates in practice as intended. It introduces a more structured, auditable compliance process in which the actions of designers, contractors and verifiers are planned, monitored and recorded.
Two new features underpin the approach:
- The Compliance Plan (CP) – a project‑specific document prepared before and during the warrant application, detailing how compliance will be achieved.
- The Compliance Plan Manager (CPM) – a new role responsible for overseeing and evidencing compliance throughout the project.
Together, these measures are intended to create design, construction and inspection information equivalent to a “golden thread” to support the verifier’s reasonable inquiry at completion.
The Compliance Plan
Current practice is that the Construction Compliance and Notification Plan (CCNP) is issued by the verifier when the building warrant is approved, identifying required inspection stages.
Under the CPA, this process is reversed: the CP must be prepared and submitted as part of the pre‑warrant and warrant stages.
The CP will set out:
- controls and systems in place to manage compliance on site
- evidence that must be gathered and retained
- verifiers’ inspection requirements
- how compliance will be demonstrated at key stages.
This front‑loads scrutiny into the earliest stages of project development, similar in intent to Gateway 2 in England, although without the same statutory stop/go mechanism.
The Compliance Plan Manager (CPM)
The CPM will become a mandatory appointment once legislation is introduced. For now, the guidance anticipates that CPMs should be:
- suitably qualified construction professionals
- accredited under an expected industry‑led competency scheme
- appointed by the Relevant Person (usually the owner) and not by the contractor or developer, to avoid conflicts of interest.
The CPM’s responsibilities include:
- verifying that building warrant stages are completed in accordance with approved plans
- confirming and authorising notifiable verification stages
- monitoring compliance and reporting contraventions
- supporting the Relevant Person in assembling evidence for completion submissions.
Experience from England suggests that the market may face challenges in supplying sufficient competent professionals for new dutyholder roles, particularly where insurance and liability remain problematic. Similar constraints may emerge in Scotland unless engagement terms and risk profiles are clearly defined.
Implementation timeline and next steps
The current expected implementation pathway is:
- Phase 1 – From 1 April 2026: Local authority verifiers are expected to begin applying the principles set out in the newly issued Phase 1 CPA guidance and the updated Building Standards Performance Framework.
- By March 2026: The Scottish Government plans to publish full CPA guidance for voluntary adoption.
- 2026–2031: Legislative changes are anticipated to mandate the CPA for defined HRBs. The extended timeframe reflects the need to test, refine and ensure the regime operates effectively before statutory implementation. Despite this long lead‑in period, stakeholders should treat 2026–2031 as an active transition phase to embed new processes and clarify competency and evidential requirements.
What should stakeholders do now?
Owners, developers and project teams operating in Scotland should begin preparing by:
- Reviewing upcoming projects that may fall within the evolving HRB definition.
- Familiarising themselves with CPA guidance and participating in pilot projects where possible.
- Identifying who within their organisation or consultant team may be able to meet CPM competency expectations.
- Ensuring systems are in place to maintain detailed design and construction records consistent with a “golden thread” approach.
- Engaging early with verifiers to understand local expectations and avoid project delays.
- Responding to the Scottish Government Scottish Building Regulations – Fire Safety Review and Compliance: Call for Evidence which seeks views by 10th April 2026 on a number of issues closely connected to the development of the Compliance Plan Approach.
Conclusion
Although legislative adoption may be several years away, the CPA represents a significant shift in Scottish building control, prioritising early‑stage design assurance, greater scrutiny of high‑risk projects and enhanced evidence‑gathering. The approach does not mirror the English or Welsh HRB regimes, but it aims to achieve the same core objectives: improving building safety for vulnerable occupants, strengthening oversight and increasing confidence in compliance at completion.
All parties procuring or undertaking building work in Scotland should now take steps to understand the CPA and prepare for its future mandatory implementation.
References: Building Standards Compliance Plan General Handbook
