Register of Architects
Encyclopedia
From 1932 there has been a statutory Register of Architects under legislation of the United Kingdom Parliament originally enacted in 1931. The originating Act
contained ancillary provisions for entering an architect’s name in the register and removing a name from it which later legislation has amended. The 1931 Act gave it the name “the Register of Registered Architects”, but by an Act of 1938 the name was changed to “the Register of Architects”.
Entry in the Register has always been upon voluntary application but subject to payment of an annual retention fee, and the legislation has always required the registration body to publish the current version of the Register annually.
The setting up of the Register had been the result of many years of negotiation by the Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA), the leading professional society for practising architects in the United Kingdom, which had been incorporated by charter granted by William IV
in 1837.
Maintenance of the Register of Architects is the responsibility of a body corporate which, from July 1997, has the statutory name "Architects Registration Board
". This body is regarded as a non-departmental public body
by the United Kingdom Government and it is liable to judicial review in the Administrative Court of the High Court
in England.
had issued a consultation document with the title “Reform of Architects Registration
” in 1994, followed by the government introducing an amending bill in Parliament in 1996.
One of the alterations was that the name which had been given by the originating Act of 1931 to the body constituted as the proprietor and publisher of the Register was changed from the Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom
(ARCUK) to the Architects Registration Board
(ARB), with effect from 21 July 1997.
The legislation at the time of the passing of the 1996 Act (24 July) had been the Architects Registration Acts 1931 to 1969.
When the consolidation Act of 1997 which replaced the previous legislation was enacted the name of the proprietary body with the statutory duty to publish the Register of Architects was the Architects’ Registration Council of the United Kingdom. From 21 July 1997 when the 1997 Act took effect, the name of this body has been the Architects Registration Board, but that change of name did not change the identity of the Register of Architects itself, which has been in continuous existence from its inception under the originating Act of 1931.
Architects (Registration) Acts, 1931 to 1938
The Architects Acts, 1931 to 1938 is the statutory citation for three Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament, namely:* The Architects Act, 1931;* The Architects Act, 1934; and...
contained ancillary provisions for entering an architect’s name in the register and removing a name from it which later legislation has amended. The 1931 Act gave it the name “the Register of Registered Architects”, but by an Act of 1938 the name was changed to “the Register of Architects”.
Entry in the Register has always been upon voluntary application but subject to payment of an annual retention fee, and the legislation has always required the registration body to publish the current version of the Register annually.
The setting up of the Register had been the result of many years of negotiation by the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
(RIBA), the leading professional society for practising architects in the United Kingdom, which had been incorporated by charter granted by William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
in 1837.
Maintenance of the Register of Architects is the responsibility of a body corporate which, from July 1997, has the statutory name "Architects Registration Board
Architects Registration Board
The Architects Registration Board is the statutory body for the registration of architects in the United Kingdom. It operates under the Architects Act 1997 as amended, a consolidating Act. It began under the Architects Act, 1931 which gave it the name the Architects' Registration Council of the...
". This body is regarded as a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
by the United Kingdom Government and it is liable to judicial review in the Administrative Court of the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in England.
Consultation on reform
The identity of the Register of Architects itself has continued unchanged, but under later primary legislation (of 1996/1997) some of the administrative or ancillary provisions were abolished, and some were altered having regard, among other things, to the use of data in electronic form in connection with maintenance of the Register and its annual publication. This happened after the Department of the EnvironmentSecretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
had issued a consultation document with the title “Reform of Architects Registration
Reform of Architects Registration
"Reform of Architects Registration" was the title of a UK government consultation paper dated 19 July 1994 which was issued by the Department of the Environment...
” in 1994, followed by the government introducing an amending bill in Parliament in 1996.
One of the alterations was that the name which had been given by the originating Act of 1931 to the body constituted as the proprietor and publisher of the Register was changed from the Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom
Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom
Under an Act passed by the UK Parliament in 1931, there was established an Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom , referred to in the Act as "the Council". The constitution of the Council was prescribed by the First Schedule to the Act. The Act made the Council a body corporate...
(ARCUK) to the Architects Registration Board
Architects Registration Board
The Architects Registration Board is the statutory body for the registration of architects in the United Kingdom. It operates under the Architects Act 1997 as amended, a consolidating Act. It began under the Architects Act, 1931 which gave it the name the Architects' Registration Council of the...
(ARB), with effect from 21 July 1997.
Legislation
As an aid to statutory interpretation, the following summarises the series of enactments governing the Register from 1931 to 1997. The legislation at the time of the passing of the Architects Act 1997 (19 March) had been the Architects Registration Acts 1931 to 1996, namely,- the Architects (Registration) Act, 1931;
- the Architects Registration Act, 1938;
- Part III of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, including, by section 125(1), the intricate tracery of amendments, transitional provisions and savings listed in Parts II and III of Schedule 2.
The legislation at the time of the passing of the 1996 Act (24 July) had been the Architects Registration Acts 1931 to 1969.
When the consolidation Act of 1997 which replaced the previous legislation was enacted the name of the proprietary body with the statutory duty to publish the Register of Architects was the Architects’ Registration Council of the United Kingdom. From 21 July 1997 when the 1997 Act took effect, the name of this body has been the Architects Registration Board, but that change of name did not change the identity of the Register of Architects itself, which has been in continuous existence from its inception under the originating Act of 1931.