News Story – Incident / Accident / Prosecution
Dagenham Fire: HSE to potentially investigate Principal Accountable Person duties
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigate the fire in East London including duties under the Building Safety Act.
An entire block of flats was affected by the fire in Dagenham, including scaffolding around the building and its roof as 225 firefighters tackled the blaze on 26 August.
Remediation work was in process to remove unsafe cladding from the residential block.
In a statement, the regulator said their primary considerations for the investigation will be how the cladding remediation works were organised and undertaken.
Along with whether the Principal Accountable Person had discharged their duties according to Part 4 of the Building Safety Act in relation to the spread of the fire.
According to one report, a fire door exit was ‘padlocked’ shut during the fire when residents tried to escape, along with no fire alarm sounding.
Residents of the high-rise block had also reportedly raised concerns about wooden decking and flammable cladding from 2018.
Designed to provide greater accountability and management of higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Act 2022 mandated two new roles for managing building safety – Accountable Persons and Principal Accountable Persons.
According to the Act, the Principal Accountable Person is:
- the leaseholder or freeholder who has the physical right to occupy these areas (i.e. the person who holds a legal estate in possession of the relevant parts of the structure and exterior of the building); or
- is the AP who has the obligation to undertake repairs to the structure and exterior of the building.
“This government will expect more from regulators”
At a roundtable after the fire, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “Seven years on from Grenfell, action has been far too slow and the fire in Dagenham is a horrific reminder of the risk unsafe cladding still poses to far too many people.
“This government will expect more from regulators and partners to make sure action is being taken now to make homes safe, speed up remediation and ensure that buildings in the process of being remediated are managed safely for residents.”
The investigation is ongoing as HSE work with local authorities.
News Story – Legislation / Changes
The full scope of the Building Safety Act
A number of new regulations have now come into force under the Building Safety Act 2022, and they don’t only affect high-risk buildings.
The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 covers a series of new reforms. However, while these reforms might seem more heavily weighted towards ensuring the safety of higher-risk buildings (HRBs), the new regime introduces fresh terminology, roles, responsibilities and other criteria that are important to understand for all projects that fall under building regulations.
Roles and responsibilities of the dutyholder
One of the most important changes is the dutyholder regime detailed under part 2a of the Building Regulations. It is designed to regulate and hold to account, those who are responsible for planning and executing the construction of new buildings and, the renovation of existing ones.
Under the regulations, the dutyholder is defined as the client (the person who is responsible for commissioning the building work), the principal designer and the principal contractor. Where there is more than one designer or contractor on a project, there must be an agreement and declaration in writing as to which holds the role of ‘principal’.
The regime comes with competence requirements for all dutyholders. They need the right skills, knowledge, and experience for the design and construction work they’re responsible for. Additionally, they must restrict themselves only to work that falls within the scope of their competence. These competency requirements extend to all construction projects where building regulations apply.
Under the regime, dutyholders will also need to ensure that there are processes in place to plan, oversee and regularly inspect design and building work to ensure compliance with building regulations. They must also cooperate with each other in coordinating work and providing information to the other duty holders.
What’s more, dutyholders will be obligated to report to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), any circumstances that may pose a risk of fatal or severe injuries. These disclosures come with whistle-blower guarantees, which protects those reporting concerns, shielding them from criminal prosecution. Neglecting this obligation could result in criminal charges.
Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs) and Building Control
In addition to the above, an extra layer of legislation applies to the construction and renovation of higher-risk buildings (HRBs), which are currently defined as:
- Buildings at least 18 metres in height or with at least seven storeys; and
- contains at least two residential units.
For HRBs, the legislation obligates clients to keep a written record of the steps they have taken in consideration of the appointment of the principal designer and principal contractor. This includes looking at the history of past misconduct or whether they have recieved a serious sanction within the preceding five years to date of the appointment.
Furthermore, a series of ‘gateways’ have been introduced for HRB construction to strengthen regulatory oversight. Before any building work on an HRB commences, a building control approval application must be made to the overall authority, in this case, the BSR. Known as Gateway 2, key documentation must be provided to support the application, including a competency declaration and building regulations compliance statement. Once approved, any major changes to the design will require a change control notice made to the BSR. For further information on the new gateways and rules, refer to the HSE’s guide Building Control: An overview of the new regime.
How to prepare
While these are some of the more headline changes to the regulations, there is more to absorb ahead of the 1st of October deadline. For example, the provision of information around fire safety and proposals on scheduling and timelines. The onus is therefore on all those involved to ensure they read and understand how the legislation might affect them.
It’s worth remembering that many in the industry will already have best practice processes to meet compliance with the new legislation. However, now is a good time to review and update policies, procedures and training with the new regulations in mind, paying particular attention to limits of competence.
ICE Risk Management – Product / Services / News
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