Consultation on future of built environment professions highlights digital capablity as a cross-cutting issue
The UK government has launched a call for evidence to inform future policy on those working in the building professions, trade and occupations. This consultation (Strategy for the built environment professions, trades and occupations), managed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, was announced in the December 2025 Single Construction Regulator Prospectus.
In March 2026, nima responded to questions in that Prospectus. Nima stressed the need for more consistent digital standards and greater interoperability of information and data across the lifecycle of built assets. It emphasised the principles contained in the Information Management Initiative (IMI) – including the need to upskill people in information management (highly pertinent to this latest consultation).
The latest call for evidence covers five broad areas – pre-design; design and specification; construction; occupation and maintenance; and cross-cutting issues, themes, and challenges. It seeks responses from those who work across the entire building lifecycle, including clients, manufacturers, education providers, those working in adjacent sectors such as insurance, legal and financial services, professional bodies, trade bodies, statutory regulators, and consumer or representative organisations. The evidence will be used in developing a new long‑term strategy for the built environment professions, trades and occupations (the ‘Professions Strategy’), to be published in Spring 2027.
Cross-cutting themes – digital
The fifth section of the document (5e: Cross-cutting issues, themes and challenges) seeks evidence on issues relating to how responsibility, information and assurance are managed across the building system, particularly between people, organisations and regulatory regimes. It seeks to capture challenges that cannot be fully understood by looking at any single lifecycle stage in isolation.
Sections 5.45-5.46 specifically highlight the “increasing demand for and adoption of new technologies and changing practices across the built environment, reflecting wider technological advances, digitisation and modern methods of construction”. The paper talks about upskilling to use new technologies and methods, and the need for broader arrays of skills, including digital capabilities. It also seeks details of how individuals, organisations and groups across the full building lifecycle are using technology and other innovations to drive improvements in skills, knowledge, behaviour, conduct and accountability, including evidence and examples of technology and Artificial Intelligence use cases.
The call for evidence is open for 12 weeks from 20 May 2026 to 12 August 2026.
