Welcome to the first eBulletin of 2015.

At the most recent Board meeting we reflected on the progress made by the organisation during 2014 and discussed the programme of work for the year ahead.

2014 was a busy year for the organisation with nearly 2000 new admissions to the Register and an increase in demand for our services. Searches of the Register averaged almost 1000 a day and visitors to the separate ARB website domain reached a quarter of a million for the first time. You can read more about these and other statistics in the Report to the Board on Statistics and Trends. We also discussed the Annual Report from the Remuneration Committee and the Annual Report on Third Party Review, both of which evaluated progress during last year and noted solid organisational performance. 2014 also saw the commencement of the periodic review, conducted by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), this is an independent review into the regulation of the profession. We have a section on our website where we post updates relating to the periodic review.

As a Board Team, and as part of our commitment to good governance principles, for the third year running we conducted a self-evaluation exercise. We collected together views on how we have delivered on our regulatory remit. We reflected on the contributions made and set a list of actions to further strengthen our ability to operate in line with the five principles of regulatory best practice – proportionality, accountability, consistency, transparency and targeting. View the full information relating to the Board Effectiveness Review.

During 2015, we anticipate the findings of the periodic review and remain committed to delivering our 2015 Business Plan.