‘More detail’ on Building Safety Regulator needed, says CIOB

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has called on the government to provide more information on how the new Building Safety Regulator will work, as part of its response to a consultation on a new building and fire safety regulatory regime.

Last month, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published proposals for a “radically new” system.

• Consultation on ‘radical’ building safety regulatory changes launched

Now the CIOB has released details of its response to the proposals as part of a consultation exercise, which has since closed.

The CIOB said it is “broadly supportive” of the 53 recommendations to establish a new regulatory framework and drive a culture change to create and maintain safe buildings. It has been involved in supporting the reforms, participating in the Industry Response Group (IRG), the Competency Steering Group (CSG) as well as several working groups.

Alongside involvement in government initiatives, the CIOB has a Construction Quality Commission, led by a group of CIOB past presidents, and working with members and other industry organisations, to identify the main issues either promoting or preventing the delivery of quality in construction.

So far, the Commission’s work has resulted in the launch of a course in Construction Quality Management, the publication of a new Code of Quality Management and the development of a massive open online course (MOOC) on quality, which will go live later this year

Eddie Tuttle, CIOB director of policy, research & public affairs, said: “The success of the new regime is heavily dependent on how the new Building Safety Regulator is constituted and how it operates. The consultation document contains few details on this.

"The CIOB would like to see more information on the plans and to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of a model which provides a robust regime in the future. CIOB members across the industry, including project managers, site supervisors and those who work in public and private sector building control, will all be affected by this and must be consulted on the operation of the regulator.”

The full CIOB response can found on the CIOB’s Policy web site: Building a Safer Future: Proposals for reform of the building safety regulatory system consultation.

Meanwhile, the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has also welcomed the government’s consultation and called for a series of tough new legislative measures as part of its response.

BESA said it was crucial that the government did not miss this opportunity to “embed a new culture and reshape the whole process for delivering both new build and refurbishment work”.

It called for an expansion of the proposed new safety regime beyond residential buildings above 18 metres to all types of buildings considered at high risk of fire. It proposed the mandating of automatic fire suppression to address the growing risk posed by more owners installing commercial kitchens and food retailers in buildings that also contain residential accommodation.

It said that all the new measures must be underpinned by a more robust focus on competence and compliance.

“However, this has to be more than simply adhering to a new set of rules – it is a chance to be far more ambitious,” said BESA chief executive David Frise. “This is a unique opportunity to fundamentally change the culture of our industry; starting with clients being forced to feel their responsibilities in line with Dame Judith’s recommendations.

“Every party involved in the design, installation, operation or maintenance of a building needs to take responsibility for their input, from the design consultant to installation contractor,” said Mr Frise. “This should be the accepted culture within the industry – delivered without compulsion, without hesitation and with complete transparency.”

The full BESA submission can be read here.