LABC — Bespoke Data Integration System for the Competent Persons Scheme

Client Overview

Local Authority Building Control (LABC) is the professional body supporting building control surveyors across England and Wales. As part of their work, they maintain the Competent Persons Scheme (CPS) — a publicly accessible reference system that allows anyone to verify whether a tradesperson or business holds the necessary accreditations to carry out regulated construction work. Governing bodies including NAPIT and CORGI contribute member data to the scheme.

The Challenge

LABC approached us with a technical brief that went beyond a conventional website project. They were in the process of rebuilding their main website and required the Competent Persons Scheme to be rebuilt alongside it — as a fully functional, standalone data tool that could be embedded within the new site.

The existing CPS system was ageing and difficult to maintain. Data was contributed by multiple governing bodies in varying formats, and the process of uploading and refreshing that data was cumbersome for all involved. The public-facing search interface was slow and limited in its functionality. Both sides of the system needed to be rebuilt from the ground up.

We were working in close coordination with LABC directly, the agency managing their main website build, and the agency responsible for the original CPS system — a multi-party project requiring clear communication and technical alignment throughout.

Our Approach

Our focus was on simplifying the process at both ends of the system: making it as straightforward as possible for governing bodies to submit their data, and as fast and intuitive as possible for members of the public to search it.

We designed a structured data upload system that standardised the format in which scheme data was provided, reducing the administrative burden on contributing organisations and eliminating the inconsistencies that had made the previous system difficult to maintain. On the public-facing side, we built a location-aware search interface that allowed users to find verified tradespeople by trade type and geographical area quickly and reliably.

What We Delivered

• A bespoke data management system for governing body data submission and CPS database maintenance
• Standardised data upload format to simplify contributions from multiple scheme providers
• A public-facing search interface enabling location-based lookup of accredited tradespeople
• Fast, filtered results by trade type and geographic area
• Full integration with the rebuilt LABC website

The Outcome

The rebuilt Competent Persons Scheme is live within the LABC website, providing a reliable, publicly accessible resource for verifying trade accreditations. The new data upload process has simplified the workflow for governing bodies, and the public search interface delivers results quickly and accurately.

The project demonstrated our capability to deliver bespoke data systems in multi-agency environments — handling technical complexity, stakeholder coordination, and a non-standard brief with the same rigour we apply to any WordPress development project.

Project Summary

Client	Local Authority Building Control (LABC)
Sector	Public Sector / Building Control
Platform	WordPress / Bespoke
Key Services	Bespoke Data System, Database Integration, Public Search Interface