Standards of conduct and practice of architects

Objective – Maintaining the standards of conduct and practice of architects

Raise awareness of the Conduct and steps that architects can take to mitigate complaints

Delivered
ARB’s guidance on handling complaints and ARB’s complaints process were reviewed and updated during the year. Three articles were included in the eBulletin relating to matters of professional standards and practice.
Additional Continued Professional Development (CPD) seminars on ‘How to Avoid Complaints’ were provided via RIBA regional offices.

Ensure efficient processes which are fair to everyone in all aspects of complaints handling

Delivered
There were nine Third Party applications for Review of Investigations Panel decisions. None of the Reviews found a flaw in the procedure followed. However some recommendations were given to both staff and the Investigations Panel in terms of how the reasons for those decisions are written.
Feedback was regularly received from the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) members post-hearing and from the Investigations Pool. Feedback is always requested from members of the public contacting ARB about professional standards of architects. This input tells us about how others perceive the service we are offering. It also alerts us to changes which may be required.
Steps are being taken to develop alternative ways for feedback from complainants and architects to be collected. This is in response to a low number of replies to feedback forms.

Ensure the investigations process is running smoothly and offers a fair process to all

Delivered
New Investigations Pool members were trained and the amended Investigations Rules were implemented.
69% of Investigations Panel decisions were reached within 12 weeks, with an average time of 11.6 weeks.

Provide an efficient/fair prosecution service for PCC cases

Delivered
Enhanced cost controls and monitoring of solicitors’ costs were developed, including the introduction of fixed and capped fee arrangements. This resulted in an average reduction in costs per completed case under the new regime of 25% from 2012. However, these are early results in respect of a small number of cases: the longer term impact will be tracked in 2014.
46% of solicitors’ reports met the 12-week target and the average time per case was 13 weeks. This stage was impacted by submission dates and external delays. Procedural changes have now been implemented to reduce similar delays in 2014.