Building Safety Regulator
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Building control professionals have been given an extra 13 weeks to prove their competence, calming fears of an imminent collapse in councils’ ability to provide the service.
Under rules introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, building control inspectors had been expected to register with the Building Safety Regulator and pass through an accreditation process by 6 April.
But recent months have seen accreditation bodies warn that too few inspectors would receive their qualifications in time for the deadline, raising concerns that some councils would be rendered unable to carry out building control.
On 13th March, The devolved government in Wales has already announced a six-month extension of the deadline for accreditation (extended to 1 October 2024) and today (14 March 2024), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed there will also be an extension, albeit a significantly shorter one, in England.
A letter from the HSE’s director of building safety, Philip White, confirmed to the industry that there would be a competence assessment extension period of 13 weeks, shifting the deadline from 6 April to 6 July 2024.
Inspectors will still be required to register with the regulator to continue working, but those who do will have longer to demonstrate their competence.
- Building Safety Regulator
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As the building control authority for higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Regulator is reminding the construction industry about the deadline to be part of the transitional arrangements for building control approval.
These transitional arrangements allow projects to stay under the current building control regime – and avoid transfer to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Doing this ensures that eligible projects stay under the old rules and will allow projects - including building safety remediation work - to continue without delay.
This means:
- If your project had building control arrangements established before October 1st, 2023, and has made substantial progress before April 6th, 2024, it qualifies for transitional provisions.
- Under these provisions, your project can continue to be regulated by your existing building control provider. This will require your building control provider to be appropriately registered with the BSR.
- In order to benefit from this, it is essential that you give notice to the relevant local authority, indicating that your building work has progressed sufficiently. If your project involves an Approved Inspector (AI), ensure to provide a copy of this notice to your AI as well.
- Failure to send this notice to the local authority will result in your project transferring to the BSR.
- Projects must use a suitably Registered Building Inspector (RBI) to continue benefitting from the transitional arrangements.
Developers must take the required steps for their projects to qualify.
Further information is available on the news page of the Making Building Safer site.
- Building Safety Regulator
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The new regulator is asking all those living in tall buildings in England to be aware of how new Building Safety laws affect them. These laws protect and empower people living in high-rise residential buildings (HRBs) to take part in safety decisions that affect them – as well as providing a clear process for reporting safety concerns. This is a major milestone in the journey towards safer high-rise living, placing residents’ rights front and centre.
The Building Safety Act provides a framework for ensuring the safety of residents living in HRBs – these are buildings 18 meters or seven or more floors in height containing at least two residential units. They are defined as ‘higher-risk’ under the Act. Residents of these buildings are urged to find out more about how the new law affects them.
Every high-rise building is now required to have a Principal Accountable Person (PAP), ensuring that those responsible for managing the building’s safety can be held to account for fulfilling their legal obligations.
The enhanced residents’ rights include:
- Assurance that safety risks in their building are being effectively addressed
- Access to ongoing information on what is being done to improve safety in their building
- Empowerment to voice safety concerns, with assurance that their concern will be taken seriously
- Clear, accessible, and easy to understand information regarding safety matters
- The legislation empowers residents to report safety concerns, assured that their grievances will be taken seriously. Clear protocols are in place for expressing concerns or making a complaint. Residents can raise concerns and issues to the PAP for their building.
Operating within the Health and Safety Executive, the BSR is a crucial part of the Government’s response to the Grenfell fire tragedy. An essential element of the new regulator’s role is to ensure the safety of high-rise residential buildings.
Philip White, Director of Building Safety at the Health and Safety Executive, said: “Residents are at the heart of our regulatory efforts. It’s vital for us to amplify their voices and to recognise the role they play in the safety of their buildings. Safety standards in high rise buildings must be assessed and managed by the Principal Accountable Person (PAP). The regulator will review how the building is managed and whether the PAP has complied with their duties.
“Our residents panel members represent the diverse resident community in high-rise buildings. They provide valuable insights based on their real-life experiences of living in a high-rise building. This engagement contributes significantly to our regulatory programme for HRBs.
The residents’ panel welcomes the new measures empowering high-rise residents. They are encouraged by the assurance that residents can speak up with confidence, knowing that their voices will not only be heard but also that their concerns will be considered fully.”
Marlene Price BEM, a member of the BSR Residents Panel, says: “Everyone should feel safe in their home, including the millions of people who live in high-rise buildings. The Building Safety Regulator is working to make this ambition a reality.”
Visit the Building Safety Regulator campaign website to learn more about BSR’s work to make buildings in England safer.
- Building Safety Regulator
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The below is an extract from an advertorial feature in The Guardian, published 1st February 2024.
‘The Building Safety Regulator was set up in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire and aims to give greater protection to residents of high-rise buildings. One of its building safety leads explains his role in the drive to improve standards in the design and management of tower blocks:
“It’s completely different from the Health and Safety Executive’s usual focus,” says BSR’s building safety regulatory lead, Daniel Lewis-Hickinbotham. “Classically, HSE is business-focused, but by creating BSR, it’s now protecting people in their homes. For me, it’s a much more emotive area of work, because people’s homes are where they feel the most comfortable – it’s their safe place.”
BSR is tasked with assessing the safety of approximately 12,500 higher-risk buildings – those that are seven storeys high or at least 18 metres tall, with two or more residential units – over the next five years.
“Once we’ve received the required information [for the Building Assment Certificate application], we’ll form a multidisciplinary team with the fire service and a structural engineer to make an assessment of the building and a decision on whether or not to issue a building assessment certificate,” says Lewis-Hickinbotham. “Our focus is on making sure residents are safe in their homes, and that the people managing these buildings are responsible for doing it appropriately.”
There’s a big learning curve ahead. “It’s a completely new regime, and these are standards that haven’t been in place before,” says Lewis-Hickinbotham, but he and his team are excited about the challenges to come.
Read the full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/working-for-the-building-safety-regulator/2024/feb/01/our-focus-is-on-making-sure-residents-are-safe-regulating-high-rise-buildings-after-the-grenfell-tragedy
- Building Safety Regulator
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On 19 February, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities published a statement on the government’s long-term plan for housing.
The statement included an update on BSR’s plans to publish the new guidance on second staircases:
"The Building Safety Regulator will publish the new guidance on second staircases before the end of March, making clear the need for a second staircase in new multi-occupancy residential buildings that have a top occupied storey above 18 metres, and confirming that evacuation lifts will not be called for as a matter of course, providing housebuilders with the clarity they need to progress developments
The revised statutory guidance, known as Approved Document B, represents general guidance: it will not be exhaustive, and the design of each high-rise building will continue to receive individual scrutiny from experts, now via the Building Safety Regulator. The fire safety design for any higher risk buildings above 18 metres will be subject to review at Planning Gateway One by fire safety professionals, and by a multi-disciplinary team at Gateway Two, who must be satisfied that the final fire safety provisions are appropriate to the requirements of each individual building."
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ARMA Guidance Note B19: Building Safety Act: Registration of Higher-Risk Buildings and Key Building Information
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ARMA Guidance Note B14: Building Safety Act - Duties During Occupation
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ARMA Guidance Note B13: Building Safety Act - Changes in Construction
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ARMA Advice Note: Fire Safety Management in Flats
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ARMA Guidance Note B05: Fire Safety