The Findings of the Independent Review of CIC Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR) are published

CIC has published the findings of the independent review of the CIC Approved Inspector Register (CICAIR) and the attached report is now freely available from the Approved Inspectors section of the CIC website at www.cic.org.uk.

CIC was initially designated by the Secretary of State in 1996 as the approved body for Approved Inspectors (AIs) under the Building Act 1984. It was intended that this arrangement would be subject to periodic reviews funded by the Government but the last such independent review of CIC’s designated function was carried out in 2004.

Last year, CIC decided that in the interests of responsible governance, a second independent and objective review was now due and this was supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the government department responsible for the Building Regulations. The review was funded by the CIC and Michael Ankers OBE, the former Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, was appointed – with support from the DCLG – to carry out the review.

The Ankers Report contains a number of detailed recommendations for CIC to consider in taking the Register forward. It was considered by the CICAIR Management Board, last month and accepted by the CIC Executive Board on 12 February 2013. The first recommendation to be implemented will be to create a new company wholly owned by CIC with an appropriate governance structure to oversee the operation of the Register. A Business Plan will also be prepared setting out the financial and resource viability of the report’s remaining recommendations.

Speaking about the report and the Board’s decision, the CIC Chief Executive, Graham Watts OBE, said: “Michael Ankers has carried out a full and thorough review of the arrangements for approving and registering AIs together with all other aspects of the Register including the handling of complaints and disciplinary matters. It is very welcome that his principal recommendation is that there should be no fundamental change in the designatory arrangement and his various recommendations about governance and management matters present a clear vision of a new way forward for the CICAIR arrangements some 17 years on from our designation. It is an important benchmark in the ongoing history of the building control profession, which is so vital to our health, wellbeing and sustainability.”

The Executive Board will address the recommendations of the Report via consideration of the Business Plan, later in 2013, although Watts added that “any changes will need to be addressed in relation to the financial constraints of the Approved Inspector fee structure”.