Spec Finish

with a short window for submissions to be made to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee by 14 September. The civil servants who have drafted the Bill have done so with a genuine desire to improve building safety (particularly in regard to fire and structural failure) and it is incumbent on all of us to support this crucial intention by advising them to help Parliament get it right. Balancing detail I have heard some commentators say that the 331-page draft Bill is insufficiently detailed (because much of the detail will come in secondary legislation) while others have argued that there is too much detail proposed for the primary legislation, which will then be difficult to amend when it is enacted. It is important that thefire safety sector, construction industry, building owners and managers and residents’ groups all do their bit to ensure that this balance between primary and secondary legislation is carefully considered. I ammindful of the fact that a key aspect ofTheBuildingAct (1984) took 13 years to be implemented and no-onewishes to see any delaywith thesemuch-needed reforms. The draft Bill expands upon the scope proposed by Dame Judith bringing the height of the multi-occupied buildings to be covered by the new Building Safety Regulator down from 30m to 18m (or six storeys, whichever height is reached first) and it is clear that the intention is for this to be just an achievable beginning. Once embedded, we can expect the new regulatory regime to be extended to multi-occupied dwellings down to 11m; and possibly to other buildings lower in height, in which vulnerable people sleep. Improved competence As Dame Judith argued – and as the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has shown – improved competence is essential to the achievement of buildings that are safe and in which residents feel safe. It is has been my privilege to chair the Competence Steering Group, an alliance of more than 150 organisations across all sectors concerned with fire and structural safety and the ownership and management of higher-risk residential buildings, which has recently published its final report, Setting the Bar , establishing an overarching competence framework underpinned by detailed competence specifications across 12 occupational sectors (such as engineers, installers, site supervisors) accompanied by a detailed implementation plan and around 60 recommendations to achieve change. This work faces two ways: 1. Firstly, back into the industry where the changes must happen and much is already being done to achieve that (although some are dragging their heels); and 2. Secondly, as a benchmark for the new committee on competence, to be established by the Building Safety Regulator, which is to hold the industry to account. It is essential that this does not just mean the ‘best getting better’ and that the age-old culture of ‘race to the bottom’ is not still enabled by a lack of teeth in the final legislation. There must be no backdoor ways into persuading dutyholders of the competence of those that they engage. The draft Bill’s proposal to establish six dutyholders is a big step forward to counteract the tendency to pass the buck but the devil will be in the detail and this will need to be carefully monitored in the primary and secondary legislation. Although not intended as a dutyholder (since that role will be occupied by the ‘accountable person’), the new regulated role of building safety manager (BSM) creates an entirely new profession and the Competence Steering Group (CSG) has published a second report, alongside Setting the Bar , entitled Safer People, Safer Homes: Building Safety Management , which has been produced by WG8 under the leadership of Anthony Taylor. This is an essential blueprint to the context, role and responsibilities of the BSM. There are several key factors that will need to be addressed in order to transition to the new regime – insurance is certainly one; and the availability of sufficient people and organisations to fulfil the necessary role of the BSM on every building in scope to the new legislation is another key requirement. Work is already underway at pace within the BSI to develop the new suite of Built Environment Competence Standards (BECS) for the three key roles of principal designer, principal contractor and BSM and this work will be complete by March 2022 (although early drafts will be available for public consultation by the end of 2020). This will set the overarching parameters into which the new competence standards will fit. Unified building control profession The draft Building Safety Bill draws from a landscape full of initiatives designed to improve building safety, including The Future of Building Control Group (FoBC), which brings the public and private sectors of building control together with the relevant professional bodies. The FoBC Report was published a week prior to the draft Bill and advocates a new unified building control profession, thus addressing another of the crucial themes raised by Dame Judith. Three years after the Grenfell tragedy, people are right to continually question what is being done to make sure such a dreadful event never reoccurs. It has been a long and difficult journey and many decisions have been arrived at too late (not least in Government support to remediate ACM and similar cladding on existing buildings) but the beginning of a new safer regime for buildings is now before us and it has to be grasped and pursued with vigour by everyone who can make a difference. Feature www.thefis.org 13 Author GrahamWatts OBE is the Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Council, a member of the MHCLG Industry Response Group and Chair of its Competence Steering Group. He is a director of several industry not-for-profit bodies including CICAIR (the Approved Inspectors Register), the Considerate Constructors Scheme, Building a Safer Future Ltd and Constructionarium. Graham is also Chair of Trustees of the Cervantes Theatre and Chair of the National Dance Awards. GrahamWatts OBE (Image courtesy of Paul Wilkinson) A new safer regime for buildings is now before us and it has to be grasped and pursued with vigour by everyone who can make a difference.