BUILDING SAFETY & REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Different regulations.
The same discipline.
The terminology, approval routes and responsible authorities differ. Understanding those differences matters.
Compliance here covers more than building safety regulation: building standards, building performance, competent installation, controlled change and the evidence to prove it.
Why the route differs by nation
Building safety is devolved, so the route to an approved, completed building depends on where the building stands.
In England, the Building Safety Act 2022 created the Building Safety Regulator, which approves higher-risk building work before it starts (Gateway 2) and issues the completion certificate at the end (Gateway 3). Scotland has no Gateways: work runs through the Building Standards system, with a building warrant from the local authority verifier, while cladding remediation runs through the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024. In Wales, since 1 July 2026, local authority building control approves higher-risk building work, with no central regulator.
For a building owner, that changes the evidence you need, who signs it off and when work is allowed to start.
Compliance by nation
England
Building Safety Act 2022. The Building Safety Regulator, independent since January 2026. Gateways 1, 2 and 3. The Golden Thread. Pre-construction services agreements.
Scotland
Building Standards: a building warrant from the local authority verifier before work starts, and a completion certificate at the end. Cladding remediation under the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024: Single Building Assessments and the Cladding Assurance Register. No Gateways, and no EWS1.
Wales
Since 1 July 2026, building control approval for higher-risk building work comes from the local authority, with no central regulator and no Gateways. The Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 sets out a separate regime for buildings once they are occupied.
What changes by jurisdiction?
| England | Scotland | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary building-control route | Building Safety Regulator, for higher-risk building work | Local authority verifier, through a building warrant | Local authority building control, for higher-risk buildings |
| Main terminology | Gateways, agreed documents, change control | Building warrant, verifier, completion certificate | Building control approval, major, notifiable and recordable changes, completion certificate |
| IRS content route | BSR & Gateways → | Building Standards → | Wales compliance → |
What compliance means in delivery
The route changes. The discipline does not: understand the building, establish what is required, control what is delivered and evidence the outcome.
Understand the building and the risk
Existing construction, performance requirements and project constraints.
Bring the right expertise together early
Client, designers, specialist consultants, manufacturers and construction expertise. Under a Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA), that starts while the design can still change.
Establish the approved route to delivery
Design, regulation, building standards, performance requirements, sequencing and evidence.
Control construction in an occupied building
People, materials, quality, change, programme and residents.
Evidence what was delivered
Inspection, traceability, performance information, approved changes, as-built information and handover.
Golden Thread and project evidence
One point of accountability for the project record, not a document controller bolted on at the end. Design decisions, material specifications, inspections, photographs, performance information and approved changes are captured as the work happens, each one traceable.
On higher-risk buildings in England, that record is the Golden Thread of information the Building Safety Regulator expects. In Scotland it supports the completion certificate, and on EWI and retrofit projects it evidences installation quality and performance. Either way, the handover pack stands up to scrutiny years later instead of being reconstructed from memory.
EWS1 is a valuation form, signed by a qualified assessor. It is not something a contractor delivers or certifies. IRS supports building owners through the EWS1 process, carrying out the remediation and compiling the evidence an assessor needs, properly and as we go.
Fabric first. Whole-building thinking.
External Wall Insulation can significantly reduce heat loss, but improving the fabric changes the way an existing building behaves.
Insulation, airtightness, ventilation, moisture, interfaces and heating demand need to be considered together. PAS 2035 reflects this whole-house approach, while Scottish guidance increasingly emphasises understanding the performance of the whole building rather than treating individual measures in isolation.
The objective is not simply a better U-value. It is a building that performs better as a whole.
EPC improvement
EPC D to B on both Edinburgh schemes: Oxgangs House, and Magdalene, Bingham and The Christians.
Target U-values
A target U-value of 0.19 W/m²K achieved on both.
Ventilation strategy
At Magdalene, Bingham and The Christians, a coordinated ventilation strategy, shaped by thermal modelling, keeps condensation and mould risk down.
PAS 2035 / PAS 2030
Retrofit delivered within PAS 2035 where it applies. Both Edinburgh schemes work to PAS 2035 and EESSH2.
Approved EWI systems
System choice matched to the substrate, the detailing and the performance target.
Installation evidence
Inspections, photographs and records captured as the work happens, not rebuilt at handover.
Independent assurance matters too.
Compliance is not only about regulation. Relevant installer approvals, product-system certification, retrofit standards and industry accreditations provide additional assurance around competence, quality and delivery.
Approvals in England. Performance in Scotland.
Gateway 2 work on occupied higher-risk buildings in England, and energy performance outcomes on occupied homes in Edinburgh.
Hatton Garden
A seven-storey higher-risk building, with Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator on 21 August 2026. IRS is Principal Contractor, and residents stay at home through the works.
The Blake Building
A nine-storey occupied higher-risk building. Engaged early under a PCSA, supporting Thomasons as Building Regulations Principal Designer on the Gateway 2 application. Now approved, with the works on site.
Oxgangs House
36 maisonettes, where a fabric refurbishment grew into a Whole House Retrofit. Target U-value of 0.19, PAS 2035 and EESSH2, and a 25-year SWIGA guarantee.
Magdalene, Bingham and The Christians
64 homes across 11 blocks. Fabric-first EWI with a coordinated ventilation strategy, backed by thermal modelling. Target U-value of 0.19, to PAS 2035.
The people who hold it together.
Compliance at IRS is carried by named people, from the first conversation to the handover pack.
Bob Deane
Former Managing Director of Wetherby Wall Systems, now part of the ROCKWOOL Group, bringing deep external wall insulation expertise to the leadership of IRS.
Nigel Coxon
Leads pre-construction on high-rise residential and fire remediation schemes, shaping approach, programme and buildability before work starts.
Iain Mitchell
Leads design coordination and quality assurance, keeping project information controlled through the Building Safety Regulator’s gateway process.
Andy Walton
Works across design and compliance on live projects, making sure the detail behind each scheme is right and the evidence is there when it’s needed.
Ryan Cork
Leads quality across fire remediation and cladding projects, with a strong focus on getting work right first time.
Compliance questions, answered.
Who approves what, and where. The short answers.
Is the Building Safety Regulator responsible for Scotland?
No. The Building Safety Regulator is the building control authority for higher-risk building work in England. Scotland has its own Building Standards system: a building warrant from the local authority verifier before work starts, and a completion certificate accepted by the verifier when it is finished. More on Building Standards in Scotland.
Does Scotland use Gateways?
No. Gateways belong to the higher-risk building regime in England. In Scotland the checkpoints are the building warrant before work starts and the completion certificate at the end. Cladding remediation runs separately, through Single Building Assessments and the Cladding Assurance Register under the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
Who approves higher-risk building work in Wales?
Since 1 July 2026, local authority building control, not a central regulator. Approval is needed before work starts, changes are handled as major, notifiable or recordable, and the work ends with a completion certificate. In Wales a building counts as higher-risk from 18 metres or seven storeys with at least one residential unit. More on compliance in Wales.
What is the difference between building safety regulation in England and Scotland?
England has a dedicated regulator for higher-risk buildings. The Building Safety Regulator approves the work before it starts at Gateway 2, controls changes during construction and issues the completion certificate at Gateway 3, with a Golden Thread of information kept throughout. Scotland has no Gateways: the local authority verifier grants the building warrant and accepts the completion certificate, and cladding remediation runs through the Single Building Assessment and the Cladding Assurance Register. The authority, the terms and the paperwork differ. The discipline does not.
Bring us in before the design is fixed
Early engagement under a PCSA is where the risk comes out of a remediation project. It is also where the programme is won or lost.
SCOTLAND
74 Glencraig Street
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
ML6 9AS
NORTHERN REGION
Unit 12 Ashburton Park
Trafford Park, Manchester
M17 1EH
SOUTHERN REGION
Unit 3, 362B Spring Road
Southampton
SO19 2PB
Insulated Render Systems (Scotland) Ltd, trading as IRS Construction · Registered in Scotland no. SC441561 · © 2026