Related insights: Construction and Engineering

Competence is now a core pillar of the building safety regime, following the recent overhaul of the legal framework around building regulations.

A new role of building regulation Principal Designer has been created (not to be confused with the already existing CDM Principal Designer).

One in four UK construction workers are neurodivergent, according to a report by the National Federation of Builders (NFB).

In fact, the NFB says it has "discovered that neurodiversity is not only common amongst construction workers, but being neurodiverse is actually encouraging people to pursue a career in construction".

This has opened up constructive conversations in the sector around employing and supporting a neurodiverse workforce.

In her review of the building safety regime post-Grenfell, one of Dame Judith Hackitt's key recommendations was for a 'golden thread' of information for all higher risk buildings (HRBs).

In response to that, the government introduced legislation – some covering the golden thread during the construction phase and which came into force in late 2023, and more recently covering the in-occupation phase and which came into force early 2024. These newer regulations are in the form of The Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc) (England) Regulations 2024 (Regulations).

The First Tier Tribunal (FTT) has made a decision as to who the Principal Accountable Person (PAP) and Accountable Persons (AP) are for a Higher Risk Building (HRB) under section 75 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA).

This part of the BSA provides that if there is uncertainty or a dispute as to the identity of an AP or PAP, an interested party can apply to the FTT for determination. 

The UK’s leading roadside assistance provider, The AA, has agreed a deal with support from international law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) to move into new premises housed in the historic Grade II listed redevelopment of Basingstoke's Mountbatten House.

Moving from its former home of Fanum House where the organisation had been based for 50 years, The AA will now operate out of nearby development The Plant, a redesign of Mountbatten House which delivers a modern, best-in-class office fit for the needs of the association.

Over the past year, changes to building safety have forged ahead at an unprecedented pace, at times too quickly for comfort. There's still much to do, but it's worth taking stock how far we've come, and prepare ourselves for what comes next in 2024.

By the end of 2022, we knew the vague outline of how building safety in 2023 might look. We had seen the government's various consultations (particularly the "consultation on implementing the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings and wider changes to the building regulations for all buildings") setting out the government's thinking. But we were waiting for the final details.

The Scottish Government has revealed its draft Scottish Budget for 2024/25 (published in late December 2023) (Budget), which will have significant impacts on the Scottish construction industry.

The Budget sets out the Scottish Government’s proposed spending and tax plans for that period.

"Progress to identify, assess and fix unsafe cladding on Scotland’s medium and high-rise multi-residential buildings will be accelerated", according to the Scottish Government, which recently published its Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill (Bill).

The Bill has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament as part of the 2023/2024 Programme for Government, with the aim of supporting the delivery of the Scottish Cladding Remediation Programme and speeding up the remediation process. The Bill's explanatory note advises that all provisions are intended to contribute towards eliminating or mitigating the risks to human life that are created or exacerbated by the external wall cladding systems of buildings that are at least partly residential.

There are three key features of the Bill, which are covered in Parts 1, 2 and 4 of the Bill, and detailed below. (In case you are interested, Part 3 covers individual liability where an organisation commits an offence, and Part 5 addresses interpretation of the Bill).