The new Building Safety Bill was introduced into the House of Commons yesterday (5th July ‘21). It outlines legislative changes that will affect owners, developers, managers, contractors, and leaseholders of buildings that fall into the high-risk category.
The bill is heavily influenced by the findings and recommendations of the Hackitt Report, published in May 2018.
The Building Safety Bill aims to protect leaseholders and inhabitants from fire risks and the financial implications of corrective works required to be completed on existing residential buildings. Some of the most extreme cases could render homes unmortgageable and unsaleable.
A high-risk building is defined within the bill as those reaching either a height of 18M or 7 storeys (whichever is reached first), with at least two residential units. Hospitals and care homes also fall into this category.
The BSI (British Standards Institute) will be working to create a suite of national competency standards for high-rise buildings, including fire/life safety.
You can read more about the principles set out for competency requirements under the duty holders fact sheet.
The transition plan lays out key milestones as follows:
You can see the proposed transition plan as a visual roadmap.
With these changes pending, now is the time to ensure you are compliant and competent.
We can support your journey to competency with our passive fire stopping training courses in conjunction with our reputable product partner Nullifire.
We are here to advise and support you with your technical and product queries and you can contact us anytime for advice.
You can also call us out to site to help you ensure your work is meeting the correct standards.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/building-safety-bill