The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will undergo a ‘fundamental review’ of Building Regulations guidance early next year
The announcement follows a House of Commons general debate on Monday 2 December to discuss the findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report. As previously reported by the FPA, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, Angela Rayner announced a series of building safety updates, including a Remediation Acceleration Plan to speed up the pace of fixing unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings.
In her speech, Rayner noted that the Phase 2 report exposed a “catalogue of failures that led to the [Grenfell Tower] disaster”, and expressed the need for “system change”, specifically the “reform of a system that is not delivering the safe homes it should deliver”.
“Statutory guidance on building regulations covering fire safety and building design is now subject to continuous review by the Building Safety Regulator, but I want to go further,” Rayner said.
“I can announce today that I have asked the regulator to undertake a fundamental review of the building safety regulations guidance that will be produced, updated, and communicated to the construction industry because we must get this right.”
In a social media update on 5 December, HSE confirmed that the BSR would be undertaking a “fundamental review of how building regulations guidance is produced, updated, and communicated to the construction industry”.
Specifically, it refers to the Approved Documents (ADs), aimed at builders, architects, and other professionals, with guidance on “how to meet the functional requirements of building regulations in common building situations”.
However, as the HSE states, “concerns have previously been raised about them being overly complex and difficult to use”. As such, the BSR will undertake a “major review” to determine how best to provide clear and easy-to-understand guidance as part of its strategic plan (2023–2026).
It will also look at best practices to ensure the guidance is regularly updated to keep up with new technologies and practices as well as how to make it more accessible, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
Supporting the BSR in the review will be “individuals with expertise in architecture, building control, housebuilding, and digital and technical issues”.
“This review is a vital step toward simplifying guidance, making compliance easier, and improving safety and quality in construction,” HSE added.
A review panel will be established in early 2025, with further details to be announced soon.
More information on the review can be found here.