ARB responds to review of architects regulation

In response to the Government’s announcement that it is launching a departmental review of the way in which architects are regulated, Alan Kershaw, Chair of the Architects Registration Board, said:

“ARB has set an ambitious agenda that will modernise and transform the way we regulate. It’s essential that we have a renewed and modern policy framework to match. So this review is helpful and timely.

“As MHCLG’s Call for Evidence notes, the Review follows a recent consultation on changes to the way architects are regulated – with new powers for ARB included in Bills currently progressing through Parliament. This includes new powers in the Building Safety Bill for ARB to monitor the ongoing competence of architects. We’ve started designing that scheme, and we’re also aiming for significant reform in the way architectural education and training are structured, to improve access and make the profession as good as it can be.

“The Government’s review asks important questions about how policy and regulation will best secure ‘a modern, innovative, accessible and diverse profession that delivers better, greener and safer design and construction in the built environment.’ ARB fully supports those aims, and we look forward to playing a full part in shaping and supporting an architectural profession that is fit for the future.”

More information about the review is available on the Government’s website, here.

—ENDS—
Notes for Editors

• The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is the statutory body established by Parliament under the Architects Act 1997 to regulate the UK architects’ profession in the public interest. By law, an individual must be registered with ARB if they are to use the title ‘architect’ in the UK. There are currently over 43,500 registered architects.
• Among other duties, the Act requires ARB to:
  –Maintain the Architects Register, a tool anyone can use to confirm whether someone is a UK architect
  –Set the education and training requirements for architects, by recognising the qualifications necessary for joining the Register
  –Ensure only appropriately qualified applicants from the UK and overseas join the Register
  –Set and enforce the professional standards expected of UK architects
  –Take action against those who call themselves an architect illegally.