Scaffolding Association Calls for Transparent Action as CISRS Announces Plans to Withdraw from CSCS Card Scheme

The Scaffolding Association is calling for urgent action, transparency and independent oversight following the Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS)’s decision to leave the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) Alliance from June 2027.

It means that 70,000 CISRS cardholders will no longer be part of the CSCS scheme allowing them to gain access to construction sites.

Following news of the CISRS’s planned withdrawal from the scheme, the Scaffolding Association says it has deliberately avoided adding to speculation while it established the facts, surveyed its members and engaged directly with CSCS, Build UK and other industry stakeholders.

It says “The picture now emerging is deeply concerning.”

The Association’s member survey found no evidence of meaningful consultation across the wider scaffolding contractor base before the CISRS decision was taken, including amongst respondents who are also National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) members.

Training providers are now publicly raising the same concern. The Scaffolding Training Alliance (STA), representing principals of CISRS accredited training centres, states that no centre known to the group was informed or invited to contribute before the announcement.

It has called for publication of the evidence and legal advice summary behind the withdrawal, structured consultation and assurances over future standards.

Governance Concerns

Governance concerns existed before the withdrawal, according to the Scaffolding Association. It says the Access Industry Forum had already raised concerns regarding CISRS governance before this decision and do not recognise the current CISRSQAC structure as providing the genuinely independent sector representation and oversight the industry requires.

“The withdrawal has not created those governance concerns. It has demonstrated why they matter,” the Scaffolding Association comments.

CISRS

With over 70,000 CISRS cards held by scaffolders in the UK, CISRS has operated the industry-recognised scaffold training scheme for over 50 years. It is the recognised scaffolding qualification of all major organisations including CSCS, NASC, Build UK, UNITE and the largest scaffold systems manufacturers.

The Scaffolding Association continues, “CISRS has now taken one of the most significant decisions affecting scaffolding competence recognition without evidence of meaningful consultation across the wider industry.

“No single organisation should be able to exercise disproportionate control over a competence scheme that affects an entire industry. A scheme relied upon by workers, employers, training providers and clients must have governance that reflects the industry it serves, with genuine independence, appropriate checks and balances, and meaningful stakeholder representation.”

“This is not about one organisation replacing another or seeking control. It is about ensuring that no organisation can control the standards, governance and future direction of an industry-wide competence scheme without proper independent oversight and accountability.

Conflict with CLC

“The explanation also requires clarification. CISRS has said that legal advice identified a conflict with Construction Leadership Council (CLC) requirements because the scheme operates across construction and other sectors.

However, the Association has now received clarification via Build UK that the CLC does not intend its requirements to prevent somebody holding a CSCS logo card from working in another sector or workplace, and confirmation that the CLC and its members will work with CSCS to ensure there continues to be an industry card for scaffolding which meets the required standards and carries the CSCS logo.

The Scaffolding Association says, “If cross-sector working does not prevent a scaffolder holding a CSCS logo card, what specific issue requires CISRS to leave the CSCS Alliance! We have spent the last few weeks establishing the facts rather than adding to speculation. What we are now hearing from scaffolding contractors and training providers is remarkably consistent – they were not meaningfully consulted.

“There is now clear confirmation that scaffolding will continue to have an industry card carrying the CSCS logo. The focus must therefore be on ensuring the transition is properly governed and that the wider industry has a meaningful voice in what comes next. The industry cannot spend the next nine months simply waiting while the outgoing operator continues to make decisions affecting the scheme.

“CISRS has chosen to leave the CSCS Alliance. CSCS must now take responsibility for what happens next.”

The Scaffolding Association is calling for urgent independent oversight of CISRS during the notice period and immediate engagement with the wider industry on future CSCS-recognised scaffolding competence arrangements.

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