More construction roles could face licensing and registration

The government is considering introducing mandatory registration and licensing for additional roles across the construction sector as part of its overhaul of professional oversight in the built environment.

Wednesday’s (17 December) prospectus for the new single construction regulator announced that ministers are proposing to go further than the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase two report by creating a new long-term framework for regulating professional competence in construction.

The government said that, as part of this long-term strategy, it is examining whether licensing similar to that being introduced for principal contractors working on higher-risk buildings should be introduced for other professions.

The prospectus said that officials are considering issues around “whether more professions should be subject to mandatory registration and licensing requirements to better support competence, skills development and capacity, as well as enforcement”.

The move would sit within a wider ambition outlined by the government to establish a “central oversight function” to provide a clear set of standards, expectations and outcomes for construction professional qualifications and wider competence.

A new framework of regulation for the building professions would “simplify the current patchwork of professional regulation”, drawing on lessons from other industries, the document said.

“While many of those in the sector are already working to high standards, the current system of regulation and oversight is too complex and fragmented to provide public confidence that this is always the case,” the document said.

Design of the new framework would also be informed by wider activity across government and industry, the government said.

“This includes progress made so far by the Building Safety Regulator in relation to its duties to facilitate improved competence, the Industry Competence Committee and its working groups set up under Section 10 of the Building Safety Act, the Construction Leadership Council and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to improve competence on energy efficiency and retrofit.”

The prospectus said that progress is being made on the licensing of main contractors working on higher-risk buildings via a series of industry roundtables.

The overarching strategy for the built environment professions will be published in spring 2027, the document said.