On Christmas Eve the UK government and European Commission declared that an agreement on our future relationship had been struck, a mere four and a half years, three prime ministers, two general elections and one global pandemic after the EU referendum.

Some of the changes are clear and immediate, such as the end of access to free movement. Many of the changes are not, for three reasons. First, in some areas, such as on the transfer of data, discussions are still ongoing. Secondly, divergence is almost inevitable and the natural outcome of the new independent rules and institutions set up by the UK government. Change will come over years and decades. Thirdly, the UK government and European Commission are still working through the consequences of some of the areas they have negotiated. Due to various pressures on negotiators, measures around travelling for business and selling services may be a little more ill-thought-through than anyone would care to admit. Disruption associated with covid-19 will have the potentially exacerbating ability to mask some of these changes, for the time being at least.

These are still early days, and the RIBA will continue to evaluate the consequences of the deal – both intended and unintended – for architects. Below is a summary of some of the top issues.

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