Call for Evidence: Strategy for the built environment professions, trades and occupations - 5a. Pre-Design - Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

5a. Pre-Design

5.3. The pre-design stage sets the conditions within which all subsequent decisions about the building process are made. It includes strategic definition, briefing, early feasibility work and decisions about scope, time, cost, procurement and risk. For the purposes of this call for evidence, we are also interested in decisions relating to the design and manufacture of construction products. Decisions made at this stage often have long-term consequences and can be difficult or costly to reverse later. Contractual arrangements and incentives agreed at the pre-design stage, for example, can set a framework for accountability, competence and culture that impacts how people work across the full building lifecycle.

5.4. In common with other stages, a range of professions and occupations are involved in the pre-design stage. What distinguishes this stage from some others is the range of wider stakeholders that will have an influence on pre-design. We are especially interested in the role and influence of the client on building projects.

5.5. In considering the skills, knowledge and experience required of a client, there is evidence to suggest that the complexity of the client role has significantly increased in recent decades, increasing demands on the capability and capacity of organisations and the individuals working within them. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to define outcomes, understand and manage risk, and commission and challenge professional advice.

5.6. Financial arrangements seem to drive increasing demands on client competence. There is considerable commercial demand on the client to manage the financial complexity shaping many decisions, including but not limited to Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangements. Meanwhile, public sector delivery has become increasingly reliant on a complex, mixed public and private financial model. At the same time, organisational capability to manage such arrangements has also been hollowed out with a loss of commercial and delivery expertise within public sector organisations. Overall, there is a concern that a lack of clear expectations, standards or regulation for those undertaking the client role may be critically undermining building safety and quality.

5.7. Client behaviour, conduct and ethics can strongly influence professional conduct elsewhere in the system. The evolution of procurement models intended to drive value, notably “design and build” contracts, has led to risk being distributed through the supply chain. This potentially results in a lack of transparency and defensive behaviours, as well as decoupling the client’s relationship with design teams during construction, and therefore responsibility for overall building outcomes. It is reported that evaluation criteria often still prioritise cost over all other measures, despite strong examples of how collaborative contracting and open book procurement can improve overall outcomes and delivery performance, and sector commitments to adopting a more balanced scorecard approach.

5.8. Practically, clients take many forms, including public bodies, housing providers, commercial developers, small developers and individual building owners. In some cases, the client role is fulfilled by experienced property or construction professionals. However, there is a huge variation in experience and the perception of different types of experience, with implications for how accountability and personal responsibility are understood. We are also interested in the influence of funders, investors and joint-venture partners on the client role and on early, risk-shaping decisions.

5.9. The dutyholder regime introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 places duties on all clients to make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring a project so it complies with all relevant requirements on completion. This includes allocating enough time and resource for the building work to comply with building regulations; establishing, reviewing and maintaining systems and arrangements to meet building regulations; cooperating with others so they can comply with their duties; and enabling cooperation between designers and contractors. These duties give the client a critical role as convenor and collaborator. Anecdotal evidence suggests this is not yet well understood or adopted by clients, especially outside of the higher-risk buildings regime.

5.10. This section invites evidence on how the client role is exercised at the pre-design stage, including how responsibility is defined and carried through early decisions that shape risk, scope and outcomes. We are interested in how client capability is built and assured, how challenge and ethical decision-making are enabled, and where current arrangements constrain good practice or create avoidable uncertainty.

Questions: Pre-design

Please ensure you have read the relevant section of the call for evidence document before answering these questions.

When answering these questions, please provide real-world examples and quantitative evidence wherever possible to support your response. You may cross-refer between answers, where applicable. Where information provided is commercially sensitive or otherwise not suitable for wider publication, please make sure this is clearly marked.

1. What types of skills, knowledge and experience are needed to carry out pre-design work?

Please consider what individual competence and organisational capability is required and where these may vary across different types of building or project. We are interested in the range of skills, functions and roles at this stage e.g. technical, financial, legal, commercial or management skills, knowledge and experience. You do not need to list detailed technical skills and requirements for specific roles, unless this is helpful to support your response.

2. In your experience, where are the most material gaps in skills, knowledge and experience in the pre-design phase?

Please provide any comments

3. Overall, how consistently do you think the skills, knowledge and experience necessary in the pre-design phase are demonstrated in practice?

Very consistently Fairly consistently Neither consistently or inconsistently Fairly inconsistently Very inconsistently

4. What most influences behaviour and decision-making when carrying out pre-design work?

Please consider both positive and negative influences on behaviour and decision-making for individuals and organisations. For example, mandatory reporting requirements, different types of insurance requirements; conflicts of interest; business, financial or legal operating models; commercial incentives or pressures; competence; cultural norms or expectations; accountability and regulation; or other factors.

5. Overall, how consistently do you think the positive behaviours and decision-making necessary in the pre-design phase are demonstrated in practice?

Very consistently Fairly consistently Neither consistently nor inconsistently Fairly inconsistently Very inconsistently

6. What benefits are there when individual and organisational roles, responsibilities and accountability are clearly defined, understood and applied during the pre-design stage?

Please consider what positive impacts this has on e.g. project delivery, behaviour and conduct and trust in the system. You should consider the influence of contributory factors such as the type of person or organisation playing the role of client or the nature, scale or complexity of the building project.

7. What challenges are there in defining, understanding or delivering these roles, responsibilities and accountability during the pre-design stage?

Please consider what negative impacts this has on e.g. project delivery, behaviour and conduct and trust in the system. You should consider the influence of contributory factors such as the type of person or organisation playing the role of client or the nature, scale or complexity of the building project.

8. Overall, how consistently do you think roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are clearly defined, understood and applied in the pre-design phase?

Very consistently Fairly consistently Neither consistently nor inconsistently Fairly inconsistently Very inconsistently

9. How well do clients generally understand their responsibilities under the dutyholder regime set out in Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010?

Please include real-world examples to support your response. You should consider how contributory factors such as the type of person or organisation playing the role of client or the nature, scale or complexity of the building project influence your experience of these issues.

Part 2A Building Regulations 2010 Part 2A Building Regulations 2010

The Building Regulations 2010

10. How well do clients generally deliver their responsibilities under the dutyholder regime set out in Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010?

Part 2A Building Regulations 2010 Part 2A Building Regulations 2010

The Building Regulations 2010

11. Overall, how consistently do you think clients understand and deliver their responsibilities under the dutyholder regime set out in Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010?

Very consistently Fairly consistently Neither consistently nor inconsistently Fairly inconsistently Very inconsistently

12. Does the current system of (a) education and training, (b) competence standards and frameworks, and (c) regulation and oversight effectively incentivise and enable appropriate skills, behaviours, accountability and quality of work at the pre-design stage?

Please include real-world examples to support your responses, including where you think there are currently material gaps in provision.

(a) Education and training

(b) Competence standards and frameworks

13. Overall, how effective do you think the current system infrastructure for skills, competence and regulation and oversight is at incentivising and enabling appropriate skills, behaviours, accountability and quality of work in the pre-design stage?

Very effective Fairly effective Neither effective nor ineffective Fairly ineffective Very ineffective

14. Which actions, behaviours and decisions at the pre-design stage most influence subsequent stages of the building lifecycle, and which support or undermine effective transition into the design stage?

You may wish to consider how people and organisations do, can and should work together effectively across the different stages of the building lifecycle. Please include practical examples of where actions and relationships have worked effectively or ineffectively.

15. Thinking about government’s vision for a well-functioning system where buildings are safe, high-performing and sustainable; individuals and organisations are enabled to thrive; and the building system is trusted, how significant an impact do each of these factors currently have on delivering these outcomes at the pre-design stage?

16. Thinking about the issues raised in your responses to questions 1-15, what practical changes or actions would make the biggest difference to how pre-design work is carried out?

Please consider who should lead the changes you identify (including individuals, organisations, sector groups and government/statutory bodies), what practical next steps are required (including non-regulatory actions) and key barriers to implementation. Suggestions can draw on previously identified recommendations that have not been implemented, or on good practice that could be consolidated; they do not need to be new.

17. Of the actions listed in your response to question 16, which one change or action you would prioritise to deliver the greatest impact?

Please provide any comments