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News: Building Safety Act
CIOB welcomes Royal Assent for Building Safety Bill but secondary legislation leaves much of the detail still to be determined
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The next 12-18 months will be crucial
when it comes to preparing construction professionals for the new roles and competencies required by the Building Safety Act. That’s according to CIOB, commenting after the Building Safety Bill received Royal Assent in parliament, bringing it into law.
The Building Safety Act, as it has now become, aims to create “lasting generational change” to the way high-risk and residential buildings are constructed and maintained. It enshrines the Building Safety Regulator into law to oversee a new system with powers of enforcement and sanctions.
Meanwhile, a Construction Products Regulator will have powers to remove dangerous products from the market. Additionally, a New Homes Ombudsman scheme will provide independent redress for new-build buyers who have issues with their new home or developers.
The act will also look to implement a raft of new measures to protect leaseholders from the costs of historic building safety defects. A new ‘waterfall’ system will be established to dictate who is responsible for the funding of cladding and non-cladding-related remediation. The act will also enshrine a new ‘golden thread’ of information for the storage and dissemination of all safety-related matters in the design and construction of high-risk residential buildings.
But many provisions of the act will not come into force for another 12 to 18 months.
The CIOB welcomed the bill receiving Royal Assent. But Eddie Tuttle, director of policy, external affairs and research at CIOB, added: “This provides long overdue certainty for the industry, though the next 12 to 18 months will be crucial in preparing built environment professionals for the new roles and competencies that will be required.”
And he warned: “Concerns remain that some of the recent amendments, such as removing the duty to appoint a building safety manager, will lead to a lack of clarity over the right competencies and training for those in the ‘accountable persons’ role and potential inconsistency in the implementation of building safety management regimes.”
CIOB said it would continue to help members and the wider industry prepare for the new regime. To support the implementation of the act, it has launched a Level 6 Diploma in Building Safety and Management, which is designed for construction professionals moving into this key dutyholder role.
The qualification develops the knowledge and skills needed to manage the safety of relevant buildings in occupation, and has been released in conjunction with the Level 6 Certificate in Fire Safety for Construction, which is designed for a range of professions – including dutyholder roles and those working on higher-risk buildings.
The institute will also be creating an asset page to inform members about the act, with links to relevant training and information. ●
Reaction to the Building Safety Act
“Although much of the detail will be introduced in secondary legislation, we are pleased that the act will facilitate the required competence and accountability for those involved in Building Regulations compliance.” Andrew Leslie, head of membership, Association for Project Safety (APS) “The act represents a paradigm shift in the way in which residential buildings are to be designed, built, managed and regulated. However, despite the scale of the act and the vast number of amendments, there is still a great deal of detail to be determined through secondary legislation.” Construction Industry Council “Those in the sector that ignored Dame Judith Hackitt’s demands since 2018 to ‘get on with it’ now have no excuse not to get to grips with (or face the consequences of) the new Building Safety Act.” Rebecca Rees, partner and head of procurement, Trowers & Hamlins
