Scottish Executive Minister Stewart Stevenson has welcomed the arrival of two new design certification schemes for the energy performance of buildings in Scotland.

The Approved Certification of Design Scheme (ACOD) will bring major benefits for building designers, clients and developers. It will recognise and publicise competency in energy efficient design and provide clients with an assurance that designs comply with building regulations.

Two schemes are now in operation for Section Six Energy of the Scottish Building Regulations, one covering domestic buildings and one for non-domestic (commercial, offices, schools, hospitals and so on).

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Speaking at the launch in Livingston, the Minister said: "I am delighted to launch these two new schemes for the certification of design for energy. It is a pleasure to see that these two long-standing and well-respected organisations, BRE and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), have been able to work well together. Both of these certification schemes for energy will enhance the Building Standards System in Scotland. They will be subject to the same robust auditing by the Scottish Building Standards Agency that is already in place for the existing structural design and electrical installation schemes."

The benefits of the schemes include a reduction on warrant fees of 10%. Verifiers (building control departments) must also accept certificates and no further compliance checking is required. It is hoped that the schemes will increased efficiency and reduce delays in the building control process.

(LC)