The CONSTRUCT General Manager attended the Build UK Building Safety All Member Meeting on 18 July where Philip White, Director of Building Safety at the HSE, who gave an update on the current priorities for the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Key points discussed at the meeting included:
- The BSR is working towards implementing the next phase of the building safety regime as planned from 1 October, and Philip acknowledged the calls from industry for regulatory clarity.
- Since the meeting, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove has confirmed the Government’s intention to mandate second staircases in new residential buildings above 18 metres as part of its new long-term plan for housing. DLUHC will work with industry over the summer to set out transitional arrangements for projects that are already underway.
- Our Building Safety update this month summarises the latest regulations and guidance that have been published, and we are regularly updating our guide which provides a complete overview of the regime. Our detailed timelinealso shows at a glance when key changes are taking effect.
- The BSR is running weekly informal Q&A sessions via Teams with a different topic each week and please email Jenny Hagan if you would like to attend going forward.
- The Building Safety Competence Foundation and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) have been announced as the first organisations to become independent competence assessors for building control professionals in England.
- Following the withdrawal of Kingspan products from BRE’s ‘RedBookLive’, BRE has confirmed that where a product has been installed prior to the withdrawal date of 26 June 2023, the LPCB certificate remains valid. Where purchase of the product can be proven prior to the withdrawal date, the LPCB certificate will also still be valid if the product is subsequently installed on site.
- Kingspan is hosting a webinar on the fire performance and third-party testing of Kingspan insulated panel solutions, and you can register by clicking on your preferred date: Friday 28 July at 10:30am, Friday 4 August at 10:30am or Friday 11 August at 10:30am.
- Build UK is working with Building Magazine to ensure businesses across the supply chain are aware of their responsibilities under the new regime, and we are supporting the Building the Future Commission conference on Wednesday 27 September. Build UK members can receive a 15% discount when booking places using the code “BUILD15”.