Yes on an ongoing basis. We have discovered no evidence of any discriminatory effect under the operation of the UK’s legal system. Statutory requirements and their operation follow closely the requirements of the Directive. The number and proportion of European qualified architects has risen substantially. When the 1985 Architects’ Directive was implemented by ARCUK, the ARB’s predecessor, ARCUK recorded 116 EU applications from March 1988 until the end of that year . By the end of 1989, that total had risen to 190. Following the introduction of the PQD in 2008, ARB registered almost 600 European architects that year: we assume the ‘spike’ in numbers reflects the transposition of the Directive in the UK. In 2009, just under 400 EU architects joined the register, and in 2013 over 500 joined. National registration levels the playing field between architects of different nationalities by providing consumers with a single recognisable and accessible assurance of a common minimum standard.
ARB’s primary legislation is light touch in the form of the Architects Act 1997. Many requirements are implemented through rules and policies on which the Board may decide. Thus, ARB is able to make relatively quick changes where necessary in response to marketplace and stakeholder demands. As a sectoral profession, there are however requirements which arise under Title III Chapter III of Directive 2005/36/EC over which Member States have no discretion: UK legislation transposes one such requirement for migrants making use of the Directive to be ‘Directive-rights nationals’ – i.e. a national of a Member State or a person covered by Directive 2004/38/EC. Those who are not Directive-rights nationals cannot rely on s.4(2A) of the Act (the European Route) but may make an application under s.4(1) of the Act (the equivalence route).
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