Recommendations and scrutiny – does the Building Safety Act go far enough?
4 September 2024 marked a significant day in the potential evolution of the Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) as the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was published. Despite the major advances introduced by the Act, the inquiry made 19 pages of recommendations to further improve the legislation and lower the risk of such a tragedy from happening again. This short article outlines the key recommendations the inquiry highlights.
Higher-risk buildings
The concept of higher-risk buildings (HRB) was introduced under the Act following the Hackitt report in 2018. An HRB is defined as a building in England that is at least 18 metres in height or has at least 7 storeys. Those who have the responsibility of HRBs are subject to additional obligations and duties to ensure risks are minimised. The inquiry has found that the current definition of HRB is too ambiguous and suggests it should be further clarified for building owners to fully understand if they may have extra duties imposed on them. Further, the inquiry advises other factors should be considered to define an HRB, such as use of the building.
In addition to the recommendations above, the inquiry proposes that any construction of HRB comes with a fire safety strategy which must be submitted as part of the build control application. This should specifically consider the needs for residents most at risk in the event of emergency, and must set out plans to accommodate for them. A major finding of the inquiry was that not enough was done in the Grenfell Tower to assist the most vulnerable, so this needs to be addressed.
Third party accountability
The Act requires that anyone who instructs third parties in relation to building works must give building regulations compliance statements so they can obtain building control approval. However, the legislation is virtually silent with regards to the accountability of such third parties. The inquiry suggests that third parties, such as contractors and designers, should also provide undertakings to the effect that any construction works carried out will be done in accordance with the building regulation standards for fire safety.
Single governing body
The Act created a new Building Safety Regulator, appointed to oversee the building control and ensure works and processes were carried out to a satisfactory industry standard. The regulator is currently spread across multiple government departments, which has led to criticism of inefficiency. The inquiry recommends establishing a single construction regulator who will be solely responsible for the industry. This will result in fire safety being under the remit of one government department, a move hoped to provide a more streamlined and focussed process.
Given the heavy criticism and intense scrutiny of the previous government throughout the inquiry process, it will be interesting to see how many recommendations are implemented, and the time frame for doing so.