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Building Standards Customer Charter

Building Standards Customer Charter

The Building Standards Team forms part of the Development Services section of the Council and are based at the Council offices at Kilncraigs, Alloa.

In addition to our local Customer Charter, the Building Standards Team also seeks to comply with the National Customer Charter for Building Standards   This provides information about the minimum standards of service that all Scottish local authority verifiers should meet and  gives customers the reassurance that a consistent, high quality service will be delivered no matter which local authority provides the service.

Clackmannanshire Building Standards Customer Charter

Our Building Standards Customer Charter underpins the aims of the National Charter.  In reflecting the aims of these charters, our vision is to deliver an excellent customer experience and the highest possible standards for everyone who contacts us. We believe that excellent service can best be achieved by:

• treating you with fairness and respect when you deal with the Council;
• developing trust through open, honest and simple communication;
• listening to your views and taking action to improve; and
• making our services easy to access, efficient, effective and designed to meet your needs.

Our Commitment To You

When you contact us:

• We will provide a friendly and welcoming service.
• We will try to answer your enquiries the first time you contact us. If your enquiry cannot be dealt with at this time, we will put you in touch with someone who can help.
• We will deal promptly and efficiently with your phone calls, letters, e-mails and visits to our local offices. We aim to provide 24 hour, 7 day access to our website (www.clacks.gov.uk) to encourage more people to access information and service directly.
• We will provide you with clear information about our services, how to contact us and what level of service you can expect from us.
• No matter what your enquiry, our staff will deal with it impartially and with discretion.
• We will make sure our staff are fully trained so that they have the right skills and knowledge to meet your needs, as our customer.
• If you have reason to complain about any aspect of service, we will deal with your complaints within an agreed timescale.

What You Can Do To Help

We want to provide first class customer service. You can help us by:

• giving us all the correct information needed to deal with your enquiry;
• arriving on time for appointments, or letting us know beforehand if you need to change an appointment;
• treating our staff with courtesy and respect;
• telling us immediately if you are unhappy with any aspect of service and give us the opportunity to put it right; and
• tell us if you are pleased with the service you received so that we can encourage good practice.

Statutory Services Provided

We are required by legislation to provide the following services:

• Process Building Warrant applications.
• Inspect construction work relating to Building Warrants (note, the Council does not supervise construction work associated with Building Warrant approvals. Applicants should employ the services of a suitably qualified professional to carry out this function).
• The final inspection of Building Warrant projects with a view to accepting a Certificate of Completion.
• Carry out enforcement of Building Regulations and public safety in relation to buildings.
• Inspect and evaluate dangerous buildings.
• Inspect and evaluate defective buildings.
• Inspect and evaluate certifiable sports grounds and regulated stands.
• Respond to Licensing consultations.
• Provide new streets with names and numbering sequences.

Statutory Performance Outcomes (services required by legislation)

Service Targets (Table 1)

Activity	Measure	Target
Building Warrant approval processes	Issue Acknowledgement letter	2 working days
	Time to issue 1st detailed response to Building Warrant application	95% within 20 working days (National Standard)
	Time to issue Building Warrant after receipt of competent plans	90% within 10 working days (National Standard)
Building Warrant Certification Process	Time to respond to a request for an inspection or drain test	80% within 2 working days
	Time to respond to a request for a final inspection of Building Warrant work	80% within 6 working days
	Time taken to issue/accept a Completion Certificate	80% within 3 working days
Dangerous Buildings	Time taken to visit the location of/investigate a dangerous building	80% within 1 hour
Defective Building	Time taken to visit the location of/investigate a defective building	2 working days

Local Non-Statutory Services Provided

In addition to services required by legislation we will also provide:

• Property Inspections.
• Confirmation of Completion.
• Copy Documents (currently restricted to copies of building warrants and completion certifices required for conveyancing purposes

For further information on these non-statutory services go to our Building Standards Non-statutory Services page.

Local Non-Statutory Service Performance Outcomes

Service Targets (Table 2)

Activity	Measure	Target
Confirmation of Completion	Time to respond to a request for a final inspection	80% within 6 working days
Property Inspection	Time to respond to a request for a property inspection (drawings)	80% within 15 working days
	Time top respond to a request to a property inspection (site inspection)	80% within 6 working days
Copy Documents	12.  Time taken to respond to request for copy docs (restrictions apply)	100% within 20 working days
Building Standards enquiries	13.   Time taken to respond to a written request for information	80% within 10 working days
	14.   Time taken to respond to a verbal request for information	100% within 1 working day
	15.   Time taken to answer a telephone	80% in 6 "rings"

As the services listed above are Non-Statutory in nature the Council is required to place emphasis on the Statutory Services listed in Table 1, and as a result the above targets may not always be achieved. The Council shall, of course, endeavour to process your application as soon as possible.

Dissatisfaction with Response Times or Service Provided

In the first instance you should always contact the Planning & Building Standards Team Leader using the contact details below. If you are not satisfied with the response you should refer to Clackmannanshire Customer Charter.

Customer Satisfaction Reports

The Scottish Government commission annual customer satisfaction surveys in order to measure the perceived customer experience and to better understand how this can be improved.  Our most recent report can be found below.

Building Standards National Customer Survey Report - 2018

Building Standards National Customer Survey Report - 2019

Building Standards National Customer Survey Report - 2020

Building Standards National Customer Survey Report - 2021

This page was last reviewed/updated on: 1st October 2024