Robert Jenrick
The government is to name the owners of private blocks where they have not yet taken action to make their buildings safe by replacing dangerous aluminium composite (ACM) cladding.
The news came as housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced that the new Building Safety Regulator, which will operate within the Health and Safety Executive, will be established immediately.
The regulator will oversee a new, more stringent regime for higher-risk buildings. It will draw on experience and the capabilities of other regulators to implement the new regime, while Dame Judith Hackitt will chair a board to oversee the transition.
The decision to name building owners that have not yet made their buildings safe comes days after the latest data from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government revealed that two and a half years on, only 135 high-rise residential and publicly owned buildings have been made safe, leaving a total of 315 still unlikely to meet Building Regulations.
Meanwhile the private sector is lagging behind the public sector, with 143 private residential blocks where work has not yet started.
To speed up remediation, the government said it would appoint a construction expert to review remediation timescales and identify what can be done to improve pace in the private sector.
Ban may be extended below 18m
Jenrick also confirmed that the government will consult on extending the ban on combustible materials to buildings below 18 metres to at least 11m and will seek views on how risks are assessed within existing buildings to inform future policy.
Jenrick said: “The government is committed to bringing about the biggest change in building safety for a generation.
“Progress on improving building safety needs to move significantly faster to ensure people are safe in their homes and building owners are held to account.
“That’s why today I’m announcing a major package of reforms, including establishing the Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive to oversee the new regime and publishing consolidated guidance for building owners.
“Unless swift progress is seen in the coming weeks, I will publicly name building owners where action to remediate unsafe ACM cladding has not started. There can be no more excuses for delay, I’m demanding immediate action.”
Chair of the HSE, Martin Temple said: “We are proud the government has asked HSE to establish the new Building Safety Regulator. HSE’s vast experience of working in partnership with industry and others to improve lives will ensure people are confident the creation of the new regulator is in good hands.”
The government’s independent expert advisory panel (IEAP) has updated advice to building owners on actions they should take to ensure their buildings are safe, with a focus on their external wall systems as well as fire doors. The advice is available here.
Sprinklers
The government’s consultation on sprinklers and other measures for new build flats concluded on 28 November 2019.
It has proposed lowering the height threshold for sprinkler requirements in new buildings and will set out detailed proposals on how the government will deliver the technical review of fire guidance in February.
Fire Safety Bill
The government has also set out further details of the upcoming Fire Safety Bill being introduced to Parliament. It aims to clarify the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – ‘the Fire Safety Order’ – requiring residential building owners to fully consider and mitigate the risks of any external wall systems and front doors to individual flats.
The government said the changes would make it easier to enforce where building owners have not remediated unsafe ACM by complementing the powers under the Housing Act.
