Mr Malcolm Pawley

THE ARCHITECTS REGISTRATION BOARD

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT COMMITTEE

In the matter of

MALCOLM PAWLEY (043832D)
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Present:

Neil Dalton (Chair)
Deborah Kirk (Architect Member)
Neil Calvert (Lay Member)
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Decision of a Consent Order Panel of the Professional Conduct Committee in respect of the charges against Malcolm Pawley (“the Registered Person”).

A disciplinary order is imposed upon the Registered Person. The order is a £1,000 penalty order.

In respect of the charges against Malcolm Pawley (043832D) (“the Registered Person”):

The Registered Person:

a. accepts the facts and matters set out below and consents to the Consent Order Panel of the Professional Conduct Committee making a disciplinary order against him in the terms set out below; and

b. confirms that he has been offered the opportunity to appear before a Hearing Panel of the Professional Conduct Committee to present his case, but has foregone his right to do so; and

The Architects Registration Board (“ARB”) accepts the facts and matters set out below and consents to the Professional Conduct Committee making a disciplinary order against the Registered Person in the terms set out below.

The Allegation:

The allegation made against the Registered Person is that he is guilty of Unacceptable Professional Conduct. In support of the allegation, the ARB relies upon the following particular:

1. The Registered Person did not maintain adequate and appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurance cover, contrary to Standard 8.1 of the Architects Code.

Statement of agreed facts:

1. The Registered Person is a registered architect with his own practice, Malcolm Pawley Architects Limited.

2. On 4 June 2024, the ARB received a letter from Irwin Mitchell solicitors. They advised that they represented a client who had a claim against Malcolm Pawley Architects (“MPA”) in negligence. Irwin Mitchell advised that they had been advised that MPA had only maintained PII cover until 18 November 2023.

3. On 6 June 2024, the Registered Person telephoned the ARB to ask whether a complaint had been received, regarding a claim which had been raised. The ARB advised that they had received a letter but had not opened a complaint at that time. The ARB raised with the Registered Person that within the letter of claim it was noted that the Registered Person had not maintained run-off PII cover since 18 November 2023. The Registered Person disclosed that he had ended his PII insurance on 18 November 2023, and that some of his projects did not have adequate run-off cover; that some only had “1 and a half years’ cover”, and others had “2-3” as a result of cancelling the policy.

4. The Registered Person stated that he had retired, and had only kept the practice open due to complications with closing the building. The ARB emailed the Registered Person requesting further information in respect of his PII. In response, the Registered Person confirmed that MPA had ceased trading on 18 November 2023 but had not yet been dissolved from Companies House due to outstanding monies being due. The Registered Person confirmed that MPA no longer held any PII policy, and that the end date of the last PII cover, which was standard insurance cover, was 18 November 2023. The Registered Person provided a list of projects and their practical completion dates and confirmed that there were no active claims regarding projects not covered by PII. The list of projects included two projects that had been completed after the PII cover was cancelled, and two projects which were described as currently “ongoing”.

5. In a further written statement to the ARB, the Registered Person advised that he had maintained full PII for the full period of his contractual liability for the project over which Irwin Mitchell had complained. He also stated that in 2020 his intention was to carry out some limited work and he did so with a part time freelance assistant working with him. He formally retired in November 2023. He said that as he was no longer working, the cost of maintaining insurance was unaffordable. In his statement to the ARB, the Registered Person accepts that to fully comply with ARB guidance he should have held run-off insurance for a six-year period following cessation of all professional activities. The Registered Person advised he has retired after a 49-year unblemished career.

Admissions:

6. The Registered Person admits that he did not maintain adequate and appropriate PII cover and that this was contrary to Standard 8.1 of the Architects Code.

Statement as to Unacceptable Professional Conduct

7. In light of the admissions above, the Registered Person admits that his conduct amounts to Unacceptable Professional Conduct.

8. Standard 8 of the Architects Code (2017) requires an architect to have adequate and appropriate indemnity insurance. An architect is expected to maintain a minimum level of cover, including run off cover, in accordance with ARB guidance. The Registered Person admits that he did not hold adequate PII after 18 November 2023 and that he continued to undertake architectural work after this time. The Registered Person accepts that PII is a fundamental basic requirement for all architects when practicing and that he exposed both himself and his clients to potentially significant financial risks.

9. The Registered Person accepts that he is in breach of Standard 8.1 of the Code.

Disciplinary Order

10. The Consent Order Panel of the Professional Conduct Committee, with the consent of the parties and having taken account of its responsibilities to protect the public and maintain the reputation of the profession, makes the following disciplinary order:

a. a penalty order of £1,000.

11. The Registered Person has no previous disciplinary history. He has engaged in the regulatory process and made factual admissions. He has also admitted that these amount to Unacceptable Professional Conduct.

12. The admitted allegation has the potential to diminish both the Registered Person’s reputation and that of the profession generally and therefore the parties agree that the Registered Person’s conduct is sufficiently serious to require the imposition of a disciplinary order. In light of the admissions, the parties agree that a penalty order of £1,000 is an appropriate and proportionate disciplinary order to impose.

13. The penalty order of £1,000 is payable within 28 days (by 30 May 2025). Should the Registered Person wish to make an application to vary the payment terms then an application must be submitted to ARB for consideration by the Consent Order Panel Chair.