Building Safety Bill

The new roles set to impact the fire safety sector

The Building Safety Bill, which was first announced in draft form in July 2020, was published on 5th July 2021 and outlined by then-Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick as the next “key step in an extensive overhaul to building safety legislation”. The reforms are set to create “lasting generational change and a clear pathway for the future on how residential buildings should be constructed and maintained”.At the time of writing (February 2022), the Bill is in the House of Lords, having passed through the House of Commons in January, and there are wide ranging changes coming for the construction and building management sector as a result of the new legislation, which stands at 218 pages. Here, we provide an overview of some of the new roles that will likely have a significant impact on fire safety.The Building Safety Bill is designed to give residents more power to hold builders and developers to account and toughen sanctions against those who threaten their safety, while a Building Safety Regulator will oversee the new regime and be responsible for ensuring that any building safety risks in new and existing high rise residential buildings of 18m and above (or of seven storeys or more) are effectively managed and resolved.This will include implementing specific gateway points at design, construction and completion phases to ensure that safety is considered at each and every stage of a building’s construction, and safety risks are considered at the earliest stage of the planning process.These changes will simplify the existing system to ensure high standards are continuously met, according to the Government, with a ‘golden thread’ of information created, stored and updated throughout the building’s lifecycle, establishing clear obligations on owners and enabling swift action to be taken by the regulator, wherever necessary.The Bill is expected to become law, assuming there are no major delays, sometime in 2022, and will apply to both current and future buildings deemed to be ‘high-risk’.New measures in the Building Safety Bill introduced will be said to:

Ensure there are clearly identified people responsible for safety during the design, build and occupation of a high-rise residential building

Establish a Building Safety Regulator to hold to account those who break the rules and are not properly managing building safety risks, including taking enforcement action where needed

Give residents in these buildings more routes to raise concerns about safety, and mechanisms to ensure their concerns will be heard and taken seriously

Extend rights to compensation for substandard workmanship and unacceptable defects

Drive the culture change needed across the industry to enable the design and construction of high-quality, safe homes in the years to come

The Building Safety Regulator
The new Building Safety Regulator will be at the heart of the reforms. Housed in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the department will be responsible for overseeing the “safety and performance of all buildings”.The three broad functions of the Building Safety Regulator will be to:

Implement the new, more stringent regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings

Oversee the safety and performance of all buildings

Assist and encourage competence among the built environment industry, and registered building inspectors

Decisions will include whether to allow a building to be constructed and later occupied, and whether the Accountable Person has demonstrated that appropriate actions to mitigate and manage fire and structural risks are being taken.

Peter Baker, Chief Inspector of Buildings, HSE

Heading up the Building Safety Regulator will be the Chief Inspector of Buildings. Peter Baker was appointed to this role in February 2021, having previously held the position of Director of Building Safety and Construction. Mr Baker will be tasked with heading up the establishment of the Building Safety Regulator to deliver the new regime for high-risk buildings, overseeing work to increase competency and ensuring effective oversight of the building safety environment.Speaking to IFSEC Global shortly after his appointment, Mr Baker underlined the importance of collaboration when delivering the safety case regime for buildings in scope, where improvements will require efforts from local regulators – such as Fire & Rescue services – as well as the new national body.Building Safety Managers
One new development is that a competent Building Safety Manager, which can either be an individual or organisation, must be appointed for all occupied buildings with at least two residential units which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least seven storeys. The exception being where the Principal Accountable Person has notified the Building Safety Regulator that they have the capability to fulfil the role themselves.The Accountable Person will have to make available adequate resources to the Building Safety Manager – which can be a person or a legal entity – to comply with a number of tasks including:

Ensuring the conditions in the Building Registration Certificate are complied with to the satisfaction of the Accountable Person and the Building Safety Regulator

Ensuring those employed in the maintenance and management of the building’s fire and structural safety have the necessary competence to carry out their roles

Engaging with residents in the safe management of their building by producing and implementing a resident engagement strategy

Reporting to a mandatory occurrence reporting regime

Currently, the Government and the Competence Steering Group are collaborating to support the development of a competency framework for Building Safety Managers, set to be enshrined in a Publicly Available Specification (PAS).

While the Government has said it does not intend to set up or maintain a register of Building Safety Managers itself, the newly formed Building Safety Alliance is working to establish a register. The Government has highlighted that any register which is established should be supported by assurance processes, including third-party accreditation of organisations making assessments.Since the time of publication, the government has scrapped the requirement for a Building Safety Manager role. It should be noted that many in the industry believe that the responsibilities explained above will still be a necessity for a responsible person to uphold, however. Construction Products Regulator
The establishment of a new national construction products regulator was announced by UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on 19 January 2021, in response to the revelations from the Grenfell Inquiry that manufacturers were knowingly ignoring safety rules.

The Construction Products Regulator will have the power to remove any product from the market that presents a significant safety risk and prosecute any companies who flout the rules on product safety.

Former Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick

The regulator “will have the power to remove any product from the market that presents a significant safety risk and prosecute any companies who flout the rules on product safety”.The new national construction products regulator will have “strong enforcement powers”, and will be able to carry out its own product-testing if concerned. The role will operate within the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) which will be given up to £10million in funding to establish the new function – also working in conjunction with the Building Safety Regulator and Trading Standards.

How long will the Building Safety Bill take to become law?

One the Bill gains Royal Assent following scrutiny in Parliament, the various provisions are expected to come into force within two to 18 months after Royal Assent, dependent on the level of work involved. Some key expected timelines for fire safety professionals to be aware of (dates are related to the time after the Bill achieves Royal Assent) include:

Changes made to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – Within 6-12 months
Additional powers for the regulation of construction products – Within 6-12 months
Building Advisory Committee and Industry Competence Committee established within the Building Safety Regulator (12-18 months)
Mandatory registration of Building Inspectors, Building Control Approvers, Occurrence Reporting and registration of occupied high-rise residential buildings (12-18 months)
New duties on the accountable person to manage building safety risks (12-18 months)
Golden thread of information (12-18 months)

View the full Government timeline for the Building Safety Bill transition, here.

Read the full 218-page Building Safety Bill, here.