Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Building Safety Bill
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Closed
Legislative scrutiny
The Draft Building Safety Bill was published on 20 July 2020 and will, according to the Secretary of State, “deliver the biggest changes to building safety for nearly 40 years and make residents safer in their homes.” The draft Building Safety Bill takes forward the Government’s commitment to fundamental reform …
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53
Recommendations
23
Conclusions
1
Report
5
Oral sessions
14
Letters
5
Events
Activity timeline 21 events
7 Sep
2021
2021
19 Jul
2021
2021
13 Jul
2021
2021
7 Jul
2021
2021
24 Nov
2020
2020
Report published
23 Oct
2020
2020
23 Oct
2020
2020
19 Oct
2020
2020
Oral evidence
16 Oct
2020
2020
16 Oct
2020
2020
6 Oct
2020
2020
5 Oct
2020
2020
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
19 Oct 2020
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Oral Evidence
Chandru Dissanayeke · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Michael Wade OBE · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Lord Greenhalgh · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
5 Oct 2020
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Oral evidence
Dame Judith Hackitt · Building Control Independent Panel
Peter Baker · Health and Safety Executive
Sarah Albon · Health and Safety Executive
28 Sep 2020
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Oral evidence
Dr Nigel Glen · Association of Residential Managing Agents
James Dalton · Association of British Insurers (ABI)
Martin Boyd · Leasehold Knowledge Partnership
Richard Silva · Long Harbour
Victoria Moffett · National Housing Federation
21 Sep 2020
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Oral evidence
Dr Debbie Smith OBE · BRE Group
Dr Scott Steedman · British Standards Institution
Mrs Lorna Stimpson · Local Authority Building Control
Peter Capelhorn · Construction Products Association
Steve Wood · National House Building Council
The Lord Porter of Spalding CBE · Local Government Association (LGA)
14 Sep 2020
View on parliament.uk
Oral Evidence
Adrian Dobson · Royal Institute of British Architects
Graham Watts OBE · Construction Industry Council
Roy Wilsher · National Fire Chiefs Council
Sir Ken Knight · Building Safety Independent Expert Advisory Panel
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fifth report: Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Building Safety Bi… | HC 466 | 24 Nov 2020 | 76 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
11 results
6
Conclusion
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We continue to believe that residents should not bear any of the costs of remediating...
We continue to believe that residents should not bear any of the costs of remediating historical building safety defects and are deeply concerned by the Government’s failure to protect them from these costs. We are especially disturbed by its commitment …
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Government Response
The government shares concerns about leaseholders bearing historic remediation costs, highlighting its funding for high-rise cladding and extended redress opportunities via the Defective Premises Act. It explicitly agrees to exclude all historical costs from the new Building Safety Charge, though it does not commit to protecting leaseholders from all historic costs universally.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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8
Conclusion
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
It seems self-evident that responsibility for funding remediation works lies jointly with the industry and...
It seems self-evident that responsibility for funding remediation works lies jointly with the industry and the Government. Whilst we welcome the assurances that Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Building Safety Bill 59 the Government is looking at potential financing options for …
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Government Response
The government states it has invested in cladding remediation for high-rise buildings and will introduce a developer levy and extend the limitation period under the Defective Premises Act 1972 to ensure industry contribution and redress, partially addressing the call for government funding.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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9
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
The Government must announce, before they publish the Bill, its proposals for funding all historical...
The Government must announce, before they publish the Bill, its proposals for funding all historical building safety remediation works. These proposals should impose no costs on leaseholders and explicitly acknowledge that in the short term the Government must foot the …
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Government Response
The government commits to funding cladding remediation for high-rise buildings, plans to introduce a developer levy, and will extend the limitation period for claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 to fifteen years. It does not, however, commit to funding all historical building safety remediation works or ensuring no costs for leaseholders, instead aiming to protect them from 'unaffordable costs'.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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15
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
On balance, we consider the initial definition of “higher-risk building” proposed by the Government to...
On balance, we consider the initial definition of “higher-risk building” proposed by the Government to be reasonable and practical, though we agree with the evidence calling for the scope to be widened in the future to include a great number …
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Government Response
The government has widened the scope of the regime to include care homes and hospitals over 18 metres or 7 storeys, partially addressing the recommendation to consider vulnerable residents. It also states the Regulator must continuously monitor the scope, which covers keeping modern methods of construction under review.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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19
Conclusion
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We understand the argument for including property protection among the regulator’s objectives, but we are...
We understand the argument for including property protection among the regulator’s objectives, but we are content that the list of objectives in the draft Bill is a sensible starting point, although we think that it should be kept under review.
Government Response
The government accepted the suggestion to keep the Building Safety Regulator's objectives under review, detailing how Clause 34 of the Bill mandates regular independent reviews within five years. However, they rejected making property protection a statutory objective at this time, prioritizing safety of people and building standards.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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20
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We recommend that the Government keep the objectives of the regulator in clause 3 under...
We recommend that the Government keep the objectives of the regulator in clause 3 under review and that it consider including property protection among them once the regime has been established. To this end, we recommend that the Government take …
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Government Response
The government agrees to keep the Regulator's objectives under review, stating the Bill already provides mechanisms for this, but rejects including property protection as an immediate objective, deferring its consideration to a review within five years.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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63
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We recommend that the Government include supplementary provisions in the Bill for mandating regular electrical...
We recommend that the Government include supplementary provisions in the Bill for mandating regular electrical safety checks in higher-risk buildings. (Paragraph 188) Construction Products and Supplementary Provisions
Government Response
The government highlights existing legislation for electrical safety in the private rented sector and committed to a consultation on extending safety measures to social housing, but does not commit to new specific provisions in the Bill for all higher-risk buildings.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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64
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We strongly agree that there is insufficient clarity around the future product testing regime, although...
We strongly agree that there is insufficient clarity around the future product testing regime, although we acknowledge that discussions on the detail are ongoing. We recommend that the Government publish with the Bill its proposals for improving the product testing …
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Government Response
The government shares concerns about product testing and outlines several actions, including an independent review, extending the existing regulatory regime, improving accountability for safe products, strengthening oversight with a new regulator, and establishing a Construction Products Standards Committee.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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66
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We recommend that the Government provide for the publication of test failures and re-run tests...
We recommend that the Government provide for the publication of test failures and re-run tests and for the establishment of an independent and unified system of third- party certification in order to introduce greater transparency and rigour into the regulation …
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Government Response
The Government rejects mandating the publication of test failures, stating it may not aid transparency, but has announced an independent review into testing to identify gaps and risks. It is also exploring a future voluntary framework with industry to strengthen third-party certification.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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67
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We recommend that the Government establish the capacity of the testing market in the UK...
We recommend that the Government establish the capacity of the testing market in the UK and, if necessary, provide the necessary funding to increase that capacity so as not to hinder the implementation of the new product testing regime.
Government Response
The government shares concerns about UK testing market capacity, commits to working with the market to address constraints, and will establish a Construction Products Standards Committee and equip the new regulator with testing capability, but an independent review will first identify gaps before further response on funding.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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69
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Fifth report: Pre-legislative scru…
We recommend that the Government make provision, either in the Bill or in secondary legislation,...
We recommend that the Government make provision, either in the Bill or in secondary legislation, for a testing regime that treats products as parts of systems, perhaps by mandating the provision of a certificate confirming how the product performs when …
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Government Response
The government agrees that testing products as part of systems should be required but rejects placing this duty on manufacturers, arguing it's impractical and that building designers are already responsible for ensuring system performance. It states the Building Safety Bill will reinforce these requirements on designers for higher-risk buildings.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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Government Response AI assessment · 76 of 53 classified
Accepted
36
Acknowledged
12
Deferred
2
Rejected
13
Total
53 recs + 23 conclusions
Correspondence 14 letters
7 Sep 2021
To committee
Letter from the Minister for Building Safety to the Chair dated 31 August 2021 concerning the Government response to the Committee's pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Building Safety Bill
Parliament page
19 Jul 2021
To committee
Letter from the Chair to the Minister for Building Safety dated 19 July 2021 concerning pre-legislative scrutiny of the Building Safety Bill
Parliament page
13 Jul 2021
To committee
Letter from the Minister for Building Safety to the Chair dated 5 July 2021 concerning the introduction of the Building Safety Bill into the House of Commons
Parliament page
23 Oct 2020
To committee
Letter from Dr Jonathan Evans to the Chair dated 20 October 2020 concerning building safety and regulation
Parliament page
23 Oct 2020
To committee
Letter from the Chief Executive of the Health & Safety Executive to the Chair dated 21 October 2020 following the evidence session on 5 October
Parliament page
16 Oct 2020
To committee
Letter from Long Harbour to the Chair dated 5 October 2020 concerning pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Building Safety Bill
Parliament page
16 Oct 2020
To committee
Letter from the Minister for Building Safety to the Chair dated 1 October 2020 concerning pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Building Safety Bill, with additional fact sheets
Parliament page
6 Oct 2020
To committee
Letter from the Chair to the Minister for Building Safety dated 5 October 2020 concerning pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Building Safety Bill
Parliament page
29 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from the Chair to Lord Blencathra dated 28 September 2020 concerning the draft Building Safety Bill
Parliament page
29 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from Sir Ken Knight to the Chair dated 16 September 2020 following up his oral evidence on 14 September
Parliament page
15 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from the Chair to the Minister for Building Safety and Communities dated 14 September 2020 in response to his letter of 9 September
Parliament page
14 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from the Minister for Building Safety and Communities to the Chair dated 9 September regarding the draft Building Safety Bill, with additional factsheets
Parliament page
8 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from the Minister for Building Safety and Communities to the Chair dated 29 July 2020 concerning pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Building Safety Bill
Parliament page
8 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from the Chair to the Minister for Building Safety and Communities dated 31 July 2020 regarding pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Building Safety Bill
Parliament page