The British Standards Institute (BSI) has published the Publicly Available Specification (PAS), PAS 700, which specifies the requirements for the provision of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) facilities and services in a workplace. The PAS recognises the growing importance of ICT to business and the potential risks that can result from inadequate provision in a workplace. Read more about the BSI PAS 700 here.

The PAS provides a benchmark for properties in four layers: Building, Infrastructure, Basic Services and Extended Services.

• Building (Layer 1) covers general features and services that all buildings need to have such as lighting, electricity supply and building security. This is a mandatory requirement to be ict active accredited.

• Infrastructure (Layer 2) covers areas such as telecommunication cabling, networking and internet connections. For an ict active accreditation Ready to Occupy properties must pass all the areas in this layer, whereas not all areas apply to a Part Fitted property.

• Basic Services (Layer 3) covers some aspects of telephone and internet services and technical support. Ready to Occupy properties must pass all the areas in this layer for an ict active accreditation.

• Extended Services (Layer 4) covers facilities and services that are not readily available at every property. Areas such as video conference, disaster recovery and extended internet and telephone services are covered in this section. Properties that provide some or all of these additional services may qualify for Leading Edge status under ict active, thereby demonstrating their ability to offer the very highest quality ICT facilities.