At its meeting on 11 May 2018, the Board considered the recommendations arising from its internal Section 14 review of how ARB investigates allegations made about registered architects.

As part of the review a pre-consultation document was issued in July 2017 to the public, the profession, professional bodies and those who are already involved in delivering the disciplinary proceedings.  ARB staff also visited other regulators in order to identify best practice.

The review noted that ARB had previously requested changes that could be made to the Architects Act 1997, to allow for significant reform of its disciplinary procedures. These changes were accepted by Government as part of its Periodic Review of Architect Regulation, but have been put on hold because of the impact of Brexit on parliamentary time.

The review therefore made a number of recommendations which would not require a change to the law but may enhance the fairness and efficiency of the current procedures.  These included exploring the greater use of architectural expertise within the disciplinary process and removing the requirement for a Clerk to attend Professional Conduct Committee hearings.

All recommendations were accepted in principle by the Board.

A copy of the review and its recommendations can be found here.  The next step will be for the recommendations to be formalised into proposed changes to the relevant Rules, and subsequently consulted upon.  Information on that public consultation will be included in future communications.