Recommendations & Conclusions
12 items
26
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We are persuaded that the role of principal designer in the CDM regulations differs from the one envisaged for the new dutyholder regime and that this could cause confusion in the industry.
Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the Committee's conclusion that the role of principal designer in CDM regulations differs from the new dutyholder regime and could cause industry confusion.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
28
Recommendation
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We are persuaded that dutyholders at the design and construction phase could struggle to access professional indemnity insurance, although we think this will depend on how the Government chooses to exercise its powers in clause 38. For this reason, we believe that early publication of the general duties of dutyholders …
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We are persuaded that dutyholders at the design and construction phase could struggle to access professional indemnity insurance, although we think this will depend on how the Government chooses to exercise its powers in clause 38. For this reason, we believe that early publication of the general duties of dutyholders could help to alleviate concern in the industry and facilitate the development of appropriate insurance products.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the committee's concern that dutyholders may struggle to access professional indemnity insurance and agrees that it depends on how clause 38 powers are exercised, but does not commit to early publication of general duties.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
30
Recommendation
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
It seems to us that few measures are more important to raising levels of industry competence than a system of third-party accreditation and registration for design and construction professionals and that the Government must include provision in the Bill itself for the establishment and national oversight of such a system. …
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It seems to us that few measures are more important to raising levels of industry competence than a system of third-party accreditation and registration for design and construction professionals and that the Government must include provision in the Bill itself for the establishment and national oversight of such a system. (Paragraph 107) 62 Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Building Safety Bill
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of a third-party accreditation and registration system but does not explicitly commit to including provision for it in the Bill itself, as recommended.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
33
Recommendation
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We are concerned that the Government’s proposed extension of permitted development rights would allow many building projects to bypass Gateway one and thereby weaken the whole regulatory framework for the design and construction of higher-risk buildings. We urge the Government, if it does proceed with its PDR proposals, nonetheless to …
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We are concerned that the Government’s proposed extension of permitted development rights would allow many building projects to bypass Gateway one and thereby weaken the whole regulatory framework for the design and construction of higher-risk buildings. We urge the Government, if it does proceed with its PDR proposals, nonetheless to find a way of retaining the benefits of Gateway one.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges concerns that the proposed extension of permitted development rights could bypass Gateway one, and states it is carefully considering this issue as policy evolves, but provides no specific commitment to retain Gateway one benefits.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
41
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We are concerned at the lack of detail in the draft Bill, or any draft regulations, identifying how the accountable person regime will operate in the case of multiple and complex ownership structures and repairing obligations, particularly where there are multiple accountable persons. This is another aspect which is crucial …
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We are concerned at the lack of detail in the draft Bill, or any draft regulations, identifying how the accountable person regime will operate in the case of multiple and complex ownership structures and repairing obligations, particularly where there are multiple accountable persons. This is another aspect which is crucial to the operation of the scheme of the draft Bill yet remains unworked. It will need to be scrutinised closely when the Bill is introduced.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged that multiple Accountable Persons may be responsible for a single building and may have limited control over safety risks. However, they did not commit to any specific action to address the lack of detail in the Bill regarding complex ownership structures.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
43
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We are concerned about how the relationship between accountable persons and responsible persons will work in practice and are disappointed the Government have not taken the opportunity to rationalise all aspects of building safety—at least as regards fire risk—within a single, consistent, piece of legislation.
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We are concerned about how the relationship between accountable persons and responsible persons will work in practice and are disappointed the Government have not taken the opportunity to rationalise all aspects of building safety—at least as regards fire risk—within a single, consistent, piece of legislation.
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Government response AI summary
The government recognises the Committee’s concerns about the practical relationship between Accountable Persons and Responsible Persons and the overlap in their roles.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
47
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We think that the duty on the accountable person to take all reasonable steps to prevent a major incident lacks clarity and that without statutory guidance, especially on the meaning of “all reasonable steps”, the provisions will likely be a source of uncertainty and concern for those assuming the role …
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We think that the duty on the accountable person to take all reasonable steps to prevent a major incident lacks clarity and that without statutory guidance, especially on the meaning of “all reasonable steps”, the provisions will likely be a source of uncertainty and concern for those assuming the role of accountable person. We are also persuaded that the definition of “major incident” sets too high a threshold. (Paragraph 148) 64 Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Building Safety Bill
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the Committee’s concerns regarding the lack of clarity in the Accountable Person’s duty to take “all reasonable steps” and the high threshold set by the definition of “major incident.”
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
50
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We agree that the role of building safety manager and the supply of adequately skilled individuals to fill the role will be critical to the success of the new building safety regime for higher-risk buildings. We also agree that without sight of the competence framework the industry cannot begin to …
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We agree that the role of building safety manager and the supply of adequately skilled individuals to fill the role will be critical to the success of the new building safety regime for higher-risk buildings. We also agree that without sight of the competence framework the industry cannot begin to recruit and train individuals to fill the role and that unless the Government publishes the competence framework soon the implementation of these provisions will be seriously impeded.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of clarifying key elements of the new regime during the Bill's passage and intends to publish further details on aspects like the Gateways process and construction products, but does not explicitly commit to publishing the building safety manager competence …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
52
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We think that a national system of accreditation and registration for building safety managers will be critical if stakeholders, particularly accountable persons, are to have confidence in the competence of persons undertaking that role, and that any accreditation should be done to agreed common standards.
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We think that a national system of accreditation and registration for building safety managers will be critical if stakeholders, particularly accountable persons, are to have confidence in the competence of persons undertaking that role, and that any accreditation should be done to agreed common standards.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the Committee's conclusion that a national system of accreditation and registration for building safety managers, to agreed common standards, is critical for stakeholder confidence.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
58
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We are concerned that resident engagement provisions could be too onerous a responsibility on accountable persons and that in many cases it would be done inadequately or not at all. We also agree that the Bill establishes a top-down model of engagement and that the formation of resident groups could …
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We are concerned that resident engagement provisions could be too onerous a responsibility on accountable persons and that in many cases it would be done inadequately or not at all. We also agree that the Bill establishes a top-down model of engagement and that the formation of resident groups could both empower residents and lighten the responsibility on accountable persons.
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Government response AI summary
The government welcomed the committee's recognition of resident engagement, agreeing that resident groups empower residents, and committed generally to ensuring residents have a stronger voice in the new building safety regime, without detailing specific actions to lighten the burden on accountable persons.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
59
Recommendation
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We recommend that the Government consider facilitating, possibly in the Bill itself, the formation of resident groups in every higher-risk building and that these groups be required to include representatives of every type of resident in the building.
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We recommend that the Government consider facilitating, possibly in the Bill itself, the formation of resident groups in every higher-risk building and that these groups be required to include representatives of every type of resident in the building.
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Government response AI summary
The Government welcomes the importance of resident engagement and agrees that resident groups can empower residents, stating its commitment to giving residents a stronger voice. However, it does not commit to facilitating their formation in the Bill or mandating specific representation.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
60
Conclusion
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny …
Acknowledged
We think the power in clause 87 to order residents to give access is wide enough to cover the risks within the scope of Part 4, and the duties of an accountable person under clauses 72 and 73.
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the Committee's assessment that the power in clause 87 is wide enough to cover the specified risks and duties of an Accountable Person.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government