Campaign for Mandatory Independent Scaffold Inspections 

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Why Independent Scaffold Inspections Should Be Mandatory

 

At present, the law does not require scaffold inspections to be carried out by anyone independent of the company that erected the scaffold. Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, scaffolding must be inspected by a "competent person" — but that person can work for the same company that put the scaffold up in the first place.

In practice, this means a scaffolding contractor can lawfully inspect and sign off its own work. This is a conflict of interest built into the system. Whatever the intentions of individual companies, a business marking its own homework is not a neutral safety check, and a system that allows this cannot give workers or the public the assurance that an inspection is meant to provide.

Independent inspection removes that conflict. An inspector with no commercial stake in the erection of the scaffold has no incentive to overlook a defect, rush a sign-off, or protect a client relationship at the expense of safety. This is a basic principle already applied in other safety-critical industries — gas safety, electrical certification, and periodic examination of lifting equipment under LOLER 1998 — and I believe scaffold inspection should be no exception.

Fatal injuries in UK construction rose to 45 workers in the year to March 2024, up from 39 the year before, and the past two years have seen a number of high-profile scaffolding failures. I believe closing this gap is a straightforward, practical step that could help prevent further harm.

I have written to my MP, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) to make this case directly. The full text of my letters is below. As of now, I have not received a reply from any of them — but watch this space.

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Letter to the Health and Safety Executive

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Mark Tayler
Statutory Scaffold Inspections Ltd
4a Quaperlake Street
Bruton, Somerset, BA10 0HB
mark@statutoryscaffoldinspections.co.uk
07775 349944

16/08/2026

Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside, L20 7HS

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Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Proposal to require independent inspection of scaffolding under the Work at Height Regulations 2005

I am writing as the founder of an independent scaffold inspection company operating across the South West of England, and as a scaffold inspection professional with over eight years of hands-on industry experience, to raise a specific and, I believe, addressable gap in current scaffold safety regulation.

Under Regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, scaffolding must be inspected before first use, at intervals not exceeding seven days while in use, and following any event likely to affect its stability. The Regulations require that inspections be carried out by a "competent person", but they do not require that person to be independent of the company that erected the scaffold. In practice, this means it remains entirely lawful for a scaffolding contractor to inspect, and sign off, its own work.

I would ask HSE to consider amending the Regulations, or issuing revised Approved Code of Practice guidance, to require that statutory scaffold inspections be carried out by a competent person who is independent of the scaffolding contractor responsible for erecting, altering or dismantling the structure being inspected.

My reasons for raising this are as follows:

• Conflict of interest: Where the same company both erects and inspects a scaffold, there is an inherent commercial incentive to overlook or downplay defects that would be costly or time-consuming to rectify, particularly under programme pressure.

• Rising incident numbers: Fatal injuries in UK construction rose to 45 workers in the year to March 2024, up from 39 the year before. The past two years have also seen a number of high-profile scaffolding failures, including partial collapses and structures failing during adverse weather, several of which involved inspection or erection failures traceable to a lack of independent oversight.

• Precedent in comparable regulated activities: Independent third-party verification is already standard or required practice in other safety-critical trades, including gas safety (Gas Safe registration), electrical installation certification, and periodic thorough examination of lifting equipment under LOLER 1998. Scaffold inspection remains a notable exception.

• Inconsistent standards in practice: While many responsible contractors already commission independent inspections voluntarily, this remains a matter of individual choice rather than legal requirement, producing inconsistent standards of assurance across the industry.

• Support for duty holders: A clear independence requirement would give principal contractors and duty holders a straightforward, auditable way to demonstrate due diligence, which is increasingly relevant as accountability under the Building Safety Regulator and wider duty holder frameworks continues to tighten.

In the meantime, ahead of any change to the Regulations, I believe HSE guidance should more clearly encourage clients and duty holders to satisfy themselves that the person inspecting a scaffold is independent of the company that erected it, rather than assuming that any signed inspection report meets their legal duty. In my experience, many clients do not currently ask this question at all, and simply accept whichever inspection record is provided to them. Clearer guidance directing duty holders to actively verify the independence of their scaffold inspections, even under the current Regulations, would improve standards immediately and would also help build the case for a formal independence requirement in due course.

I recognise that a change of this nature would need to be developed in consultation with industry bodies, including the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) and the Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS), both of whom are well placed to advise on how an "independent inspector" requirement could be defined and implemented without creating unreasonable burdens for smaller contractors.

I would be grateful if HSE could advise whether this issue has previously been considered, whether it forms part of any current or planned review of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and whether there is a formal route through which industry stakeholders can contribute evidence to support this proposal. I would also welcome the opportunity to discuss this further, or to provide additional information or case examples, should that be helpful.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this letter. I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Tayler
Founder, Statutory Scaffold Inspections Ltd

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Letter to the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC)

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Statutory Scaffold Inspections
4a Quaperlake Street
Bruton
Somerset
BA10 0HB

16/08/2026

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Dear NASC,

I am the founder of Statutory Scaffold Inspections Ltd, an independent scaffold inspection company operating across the South West, and a CISRS Advanced Scaffold Inspector with over eight years' experience in the sector.

I have written to the Health and Safety Executive proposing that the Work at Height Regulations 2005 be amended, or that HSE guidance be revised, to require that statutory scaffold inspections are carried out by a competent person independent of the contractor who erected the scaffold. A copy of that letter is enclosed. I have also written to my local MP asking them to raise this matter, given the safety implications for the industry.

As things stand, a scaffolding contractor can lawfully inspect and sign off its own work. I believe this represents a real conflict of interest, and one that sits at odds with the approach taken in other safety-critical trades, such as gas safety and lifting equipment inspection under LOLER, where independent verification is already standard or required.

I recognise that any change of this kind would need to be developed with NASC and CISRS closely involved, given your role in setting technical guidance and inspection standards across the industry. I am writing to ask whether NASC would consider supporting this proposal, and whether there is an existing route through which members can raise this kind of issue with HSE as part of ongoing engagement on the Work at Height Regulations.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further, and I am happy to provide additional case examples from my own inspection work if that would be useful.

Thank you for considering this.

Kind regards,
Mark Tayler
Founder, Statutory Scaffold Inspections Ltd
07775 349944
mark@statutoryscaffoldinspections.co.uk

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Letter to my MP

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Mark Tayler
Statutory Scaffold Inspections Ltd
4a Quaperlake Street
Bruton
Somerset
BA10 0HB
mark@statutoryscaffoldinspections.co.uk
07775 349944

16/08/2026

 

Dear Sarah Dyke,

I am writing as a constituent and the founder of Statutory Scaffold Inspections Ltd, an independent scaffold inspection company based in Bruton and operating across the South West.

I am raising a specific gap in construction safety regulation that I believe deserves attention. Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, scaffolding must be inspected by a "competent person", but there is no requirement for that person to be independent of the company that erected the scaffold. In practice, this means a scaffolding contractor can lawfully inspect and sign off its own work, creating an obvious conflict of interest.

Fatal injuries in UK construction rose to 45 workers in the year to March 2024, up from 39 the year before, and the past two years have seen a number of high-profile scaffolding failures. Independent third-party verification is already standard practice in other safety-critical trades, such as gas safety and lifting equipment (LOLER), and I believe scaffold inspection should follow the same principle.

I have written directly to the Health and Safety Executive setting out this issue in detail and proposing that the Work at Height Regulations 2005 be amended, or that revised guidance be issued, to require independent scaffold inspection. I have enclosed a copy of that letter for your reference.

I would be very grateful if you would consider raising this with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, or otherwise supporting this as a matter worth pursuing in Parliament. I would also be happy to meet or speak further about it if that would be useful, and can provide additional detail or case examples from my own inspection work.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Tayler
Founder, Statutory Scaffold Inspections Ltd

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If you agree, add your voice

I believe this is a change worth making, and the more people who raise it, the more likely it is to be heard. If you agree that scaffold inspections should be carried out independently of the erecting contractor, I'd encourage you to write to your own MP. You can find your MP's contact details at www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/.

If you'd like to discuss this campaign, or share your own experience of scaffold safety, get in touch: mark@statutoryscaffoldinspections.co.uk