CABE's 2023 programme of events

Throughout January and February, the Association has been busy with regional and national AGMs.

It’s the opportunity to meet as many members as possible to explain what CABE is doing for and on behalf of members. The AGMs showcase where the Association continues to be successful, but also the latest challenges and what aspects need changing in response to the issues members face. I hope you saw the annual statement in January’s edition, which shows that the Association continues to grow positively. 

Following the pandemic and with changes to the regulatory regimes in many jurisdictions around the world, notably the UK’s reforms to its building safety standards, the Association must respond to the significant changes ahead. Additionally in England, the introduction of the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) creates new regulated duty-holding roles for High-Risk Buildings (HRBs), and introduces requirements for the mandatory registration of building control professionals in the coming year. 

I am pleased to report that for those undertaking duty-holding roles in HRBs, CABE has now submitted its application to the Engineering Council to offer contextualised registration, becoming the first professional engineering institution to do so, and once approved we will be able to offer members a route to demonstrate competency.

For those members working in building control, significant uncertainty remains as to exactly what they will need to do as the final competency standards and registration requirements have not yet been set by the BSR. CABE has engaged proactively with the BSR and has submitted proposals as to how members could demonstrate their competence as building inspectors. Those discussions are ongoing, but members should be reassured that our aim is to provide suitable and robust routes to registration as soon as we’re able to do so in a manner that BSR deems appropriate.

The other major change this year is CABE’s events programme. Following the pandemic, demand for in-person events is very different and has resulted in many of our established activities becoming financially unviable – this includes our traditional annual conference. So in 2023 we will be trying something a bit different by introducing the CABE Built Environment Series. The series comprises several events focused on performance, compliance and safety in the built environment that will be held throughout the year across the UK and Ireland. This will include conferences with content tailored to their locality, a significant presence at a large live trade event in London and a separate awards programme. This adds to our continued support of regional activities with the overall aim of getting more information, to more members, in more locations, at a lower cost.

Also at this time of year there is the election of board members. Voting closed on 3 February 2023 and I’m pleased to announce that from May this year, Zoe Cox will become Vice President. Joining the board as Ordinary Members are Michael Wadood and Veronica Fiore. Congratulations to the successful candidates, and thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time to support the Association this year.

Dr Gavin Dunn, Chief Executive