Responses to the consultation

The Code

More respondents agreed than disagreed with each of the proposed standards.

‘Honesty and integrity’ received the highest level of combined agreement (89%), and ‘Public interest’ received the lowest with 70%, which is still a strong majority. ‘Public interest’ also had the highest level of disagreement, but with only 16% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

More information about how people responded to the proposed standards can be found in the consultation report.

The guidance

More respondents agreed than disagreed with each of the proposed guidance topics.

‘Strongly agree’ was the most common response for each of the proposed topics. ‘Building safety’ and ‘Dealing with complaints and disputes’ received the highest level of agreement (80% and 79%), with building safety having a noticeably higher level of strong agreement (59%).

More information about how people responded to the proposed guidance topics can be found in the consultation report.

Conclusions and next steps

The Code

The consultation revealed that there is strong support for our proposed Standards and guidance.

Some respondents suggested improvements to the Code’s language, helping us identify areas that need clarification. We are reviewing and considering all drafting suggestions, particularly those relating to definitions. We will also consider how we might use examples or case studies in the guidance to improve understanding.

Many of the suggestions we received were ideas that we cannot adopt, either because they are outside of our statutory remit (such as fees) or because we are not the appropriate body (such as pay or employment law). However, we will consider how we can incorporate some of the helpful or more detailed suggestions into the updated Code and the guidance we are currently developing.

We will consult on each guidance document before it is introduced, grouping them together for publication to reduce the number of consultations. At all times, we will be clear as to what guidance applies and its role, so that architects know what is expected of them, and know what standards they would be judged against should a disciplinary case come about.

We will publish the final version of the Code this summer, once the Board has considered the drafting improvements we are making in light of the consultation. The consultation report contains further detail on the key points raised by respondents, and how we have considered them.

Guidance consultation part one 

We are initially publishing draft versions of three of the guidance documents for consultation. This is the first of three consultations; further guidance documents will be published in part two and part three as outlined below. 

The guidance we are consulting on initially are: 

• Dealing with complaints 

• Professional indemnity insurance 

• Terms of engagement 

The guidance can be viewed below, and you can participate in the consultation here. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, these three documents will be finalised and published alongside the new Code later this year.  

The remaining guidance documents will also be published for consultation later this year, in two further tranches. The next (part two) will be published in the summer. 

Draft versions of the guidance documents will be published as follows:

*Guidance already exists and will be reviewed and updated