Building standards customer charter

Our aim are:

• to grant building warrants and accept completion certificates
• to secure the health, safety, welfare and convenience of persons in and about buildings and others who may be affected by buildings or matters connected with buildings
• furthering the conservation of fuel and power and
• furthering the achievement of sustainable development

To provide a professional and informative service to all our customers.

Nationally all local authority verifiers will:

1. Seek to reduce the average time it takes for customers to obtain a building warrant or amendment to warrant.
2. Ensure continuous improvement around the robustness of our verification assessments to ensure compliance.
3. Meet and seek to exceed customer expectations.
4. Carry out local customer satisfaction research, such as surveys or focus groups.
5. Address feedback obtained through local and national customer satisfaction research (including a National Customer Satisfaction Survey) to improve the customer experience.
6. Provide information on local formal complaints procedures, the Local Authority Building Standards Scotland (LABSS) Dispute Resolution Process, and the Building Standards Division (BSD) Customer Performance Reporting Service, and refer customers as appropriate.
7. Provide accurate financial data that is evidence‐based.
8. Engage and participate in partnership working at a local and national level to identify and embed service improvements at a national level.
9. Adhere to a national annual verification performance report outlining our objectives, targets and performance.
10. Fully adhere to the commitments outlined in this Charter (including information on customer dissatisfaction in relation to building warrant processing timescales, processes and technical interpretation.
11. Use a consistent format for continuous improvement plans.

We will:

• treat you fairly and with respect
• expect you to treat our staff with respect
• offer a friendly and polite service and be sensitive to your needs
• deal with your communications promptly
• deal with your enquiry at first point of contact, wherever possible
• make best use of technology to enable service improvements
• do our best to help you and let you know how quickly we can take action
• provide easy to understand information about the services we provide
• make information and services accessible online
• deal with your feedback positively and quickly
• keep your details confidential as far as possible

We will:

• answer the phone within five rings whenever possible
• give you our name when we answer your call to let you know who you are speaking to
• deal with your enquiry on the spot if we can
• advise you what we can do to assist and by when, or tell you why we cannot help (if we cannot help you immediately, we will try to tell you who can)
• if you call and the person you need to speak to is not in the office and you leave a message with another member of staff, we will return your call within one working day

We will:

• acknowledge all written correspondence within seven working days of receipt, and we will provide a full written response within 28 calendar days. In cases where there is going to be a delay, we will send you an interim reply explaining the position
• make our communications clear and easy to understand
• arrange for letters to be:
  • translated
  • interpreted over the phone
  • provide email responses
  • make available in large print, braille or other formats if necessary

We will:

• arrange in advance to meet with you if requested and provide general information or advice. However, if you wish to make an appointment with a specific member of staff you can do so
• try to arrange meetings where possible that are convenient for both parties
• deal with all of your enquiries about the Building Standards Service and where necessary contact the appropriate Council service as required
• have clear signs and display our opening hours in all our offices
• clearly display how you can make a complaint
• have induction loops for those who require them for any meetings

Building Standards will try to provide the following standards of performance at all times, but please note that very large or complex projects may take longer. A more accurate estimate of the expected response times can be discussed with any member of staff at the time of enquiry submission.

We will:

• provide a first response assessment to applications for building warrants within 20 working days where possible
• issue building warrants within six working days of receiving all of the information we have requested where possible
• respond to the request for a completion certificate within 10 working days
• accept completion certificates within three working days of being satisfied that the work complies with the warrant and building regulations where possible

If you are not satisfied with our service please discuss the matter as quickly as possible with the member of staff you have been dealing with or alternatively with the Building Standards team leader or the operations manager (Building Standards and Development Management). This is the quickest and easiest way to get the matter sorted.

If you wish to make a written complaint please write to the operations manager (Building Standards and Development Management) or fill in a 'Comments, Suggestions and Complaints' form, available at every public access point in public buildings.

You can also complain online by visiting our contact us webpage and completing an online form.

We will:

• let you know we have received your complaint by writing to you within seven calendar days
• reply to your complaint in writing within 28 calendar days
• apologise to you, if appropriate, and take action to solve the problem
• consider your complaint when we review our service and our staff

If you have submitted a building warrant application and have not received either the warrant or a technical response within 35 working days of receipt of your valid application you have the right to request a resolution to the matter. This can be done by initially contacting the operations manager.

If after this you are still unsatisfied you can also report the issue to the Building Standards Division of Scottish Government by emailing  buildingstandards@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

While East Ayrshire Council Building Standards seek agreement in how interpretation matters are handled, inevitably a difference of opinion can result.

In this event, Local Authority Building Standards Scotland (LABSS) have developed a process whereby the applicant has access to a resolution process. This process must involve all parties to the interpretation and would be initiated by contacting the Operations Manager. The Building Standards Division (BSD)of the Scottish Government supports the adoption of the LABSS Dispute Resolution Process and will refer applicants to the process.

If at any time in the process the applicant seeks a view from the BSD, the resolution process is terminated and BSD view is adopted by the instigating authority. Similarly, if at any time in the process the applicant lodges a complaint through the council’s formal complaints procedure, then the local authority process takes precedence. The resolution process is terminated.

Building Standards aims to provide a helpful, professional and informative service to all our customers to help them to comply with the Building (Scotland) Act and allied legislation. So it’s important that we get your views on the service we provide.

To do this we will:

• carry out customer satisfaction surveys; listen and learn from any suggestions, comments and complaints made
• ask you to help us by using a reference number in all correspondence
• ask you to make an appointment if you wish to meet with a member of our staff

Customers can submit applications for building warrant electronically to East Ayrshire Council through the Scottish Government eBuilding Standards online system eBuildingstandards.scot can also be accessed through eDevelopment.scot – a single landing page leading both to the new eBuilding Standards service and to the ePlanning service.

This includes the online submission of applications for building warrants and other related forms, such as completion certificates and all associated plans and reports.