RSUA meets BEIS Minister of State

30/03/2021

On 24 February 2021, RSUA President, Donal MacRandal, participated in a roundtable discussion with Lord Grimstone which focussed on recognition of professional qualifications and professional business services.

The meeting was attended by other representatives of the accountancy, engineering, and legal sectors. The session began by the Minister introducing attendees and outlining the portfolio of work
covered in his role. The Minister outlined the different arrangements possible for specific professions to secure recognition of their professional qualifications and also highlighted why these arrangements are important for regulators and professional bodies across the UK.

Donal highlighted concerns that the RoI/UK MoU could become a backdoor for others (e.g. Australians gaining recognition in the UK converting this to RoI recognition and then on to recognition in France or Polish architects registering in RoI and then converting that to recognition in the UK) leading to either UK or EU suspending the MoU to close the back door.

The meeting also discussed:

• The Importance of Securing Mutual Recognition with EU Regulators
• Possibilities of Securing Different Recognition Arrangements
• Follow-up Questions for Regulators and Wider Discussion
• Closing remarks

The Minister closed the meeting and informed the attendees that BEIS will publish guidance for regulators in March and urged attendees to liaise with the Department to provide further input into the development of this guidance. RSUA will continue to seek opportunities for engagement and the promotion of architecture in Northern Ireland.