The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is working closely with local authority building control and fire and rescue services to deliver the new building safety regime in England.
The Building Safety Act 2022 names the HSE as the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and, as more of the regulator’s functions and services come online, it’s important that duty holders are prepared for their new roles and responsibilities under the Act.
It introduces a new regulatory framework for higher-risk buildings and a new approach to the oversight of the safety and standards of all buildings, placing residents’ safety at its heart.
The regulator will help and encourage industry to step up and take action, but it will also hold to account those responsible for the safety management of buildings if they put people at risk and fail to comply with their new duties.
Ultimately, the BSR is responsible for regulating building safety in higher-risk residential buildings. However, significant regulatory decisions on building control requirements and safety case assessment will be supported by multidisciplinary teams, including, as appropriate, local authorities, fire and rescue services, and other experts.
The new building safety framework will also work alongside, and complement, existing fire and building safety and standards regimes, and the BSR will work closely with our local authority and fire and rescue service regulatory partners to ensure the right safety outcomes are achieved.
Building control, and the professionals who work in it, are a key component of a regulatory system that inspires the confidence of industry, homeowners, and residents, and delivers safe and good-quality buildings.
The regulator’s oversight function will cover the performance of all building control bodies, with local authority building control departments required to adhere and report to BSR, against a set of operational standards rules.
All professionals in the discipline, in both the private and public sectors, will be required to demonstrate their competence if they wish to continue to practise.
The Act introduces two new roles: registered building inspectors (RBIs) and registered building control approvers (RBCAs), both of which are required to meet strict competency requirements and new professional conduct rules.
The two registers will open from October this year, and the new set of standards for inspectors and approvers will become enforceable from April 2024.
The aim is to give confidence that, whether citizens engage their local authority or an approved building inspector for building control, they will receive a consistent standard of professionalism, competency and approach.
The primary responsibility for ensuring that building work is properly managed, meets the functional standards of the Building Regulations, and delivers safe and good-quality buildings rests firmly with those carrying out the work.
It is the responsibility of local authorities and registered RBCAs to ensure that the inspectors you employ are ready to step up and work to the standards set out in the new regime.
Changing the way the building control profession is regulated is a vital part of the reforms, to make sure all buildings are designed, built and maintained to be safe and meet high standards.
The future of building safety is in all our hands and it’s time for everyone to step up and act – so that, together, we can lay the foundation for a world-leading building safety regime.