Since the results of Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review on Building Regulations and Fire Safety and the follow-up response from Government was published, you have probably heard a lot about the Building Safety Regulator. But what is it? And how will it affect the glazing sector? Jon Vanstone, chair of Certass Trade Association, explains…

Q: What is the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and why is it important for glazing?

Jon Vanstone (JV): Simply put, there are two main objectives of the Building Safety Regulator: to ensure that people in and around buildings are safe, and to improve building standards.

It will introduce much more stringent regulations for high-rise buildings, but it will also ‘oversee the safety and performance of all buildings’ which will include the Repair, Maintenance, and Improvement (RMI) sector, which is the focus for so much of the glazing industry.

Q: How will BSR achieve its goals?

JV: The bill will give the new regulator unprecedented power and influence over the way buildings are built and maintained. They will work closely with local authorities, as well as fire and rescue authorities, create committees to develop work with industry, which will include a residents’ panel, and they will be given power to recover costs from regulated parties.

Q: Will new rules be enforced?

JV: The BSR has been established within the Health and Safety Executive, partly to speed up the process of set-up but also thanks to recommendations from industry. HSE has a solid background of convictions against companies who have breached health and safety laws, so there is little doubt that this won’t continue with the new regulator. HSE seems to see enforcement as a positive control method for ensuring safety in buildings.

There will also be additional new mandatory registrations and reporting as well as the introduction of the Golden Thread of Information in the next couple of years. 

Q: What is the Construction Products Regulator?

JV: Everyone in the sector has the potential to be impacted by the Construction Products Regulator, so this is one to take note of, especially for companies who carry out work in high-rise buildings over 18m or high-risk buildings, such as care homes and hospitals. Indeed, current focus from Michael Gove has now lowered the level as his department looks to claim £4 billion from manufacturers of products used within buildings from 11-18m.

Additional powers for regulating products will come soon after the bill is implemented and later, after the implementation of the Golden Thread, there will be further new requirements for reporting on how products are deemed to be safe.

Q: How is glazing connected to the BSR?

JV: There is currently little connection between glazing and the BSR, other than myself as the founding chair of the Interim Industry Competence Committee, which will transition to become part of the regulator, alongside a Building Advisory Committee and Residents’ Panel.

Q: What impact can we make?

JV: The HSE is engaging with the construction industry for advice on certain aspects of the regulator. If glazing doesn’t want to be left out of the conversation, we need to make sure we are responding to consultations when they are released. I’ll share these on the Certass social media channels as and when they are released.

Q: What’s next?

JV: As we enter the transition period and the bill comes into effect, there are ongoing discussions around the details. As decisions are made and information is released, I’ll be sharing it to industry and analysing its impact for our members. One thing that is coming up time and again in terms of installation of products is how we prove and record competency, which is partly why the Future of Competence is the focus of my seminar at FIT Show.

The key point is that the Building Safety Regulator will be responsible for key regulatory decisions and it will carry strong enforcement powers to ensure safety.

It’s good news for those who follow best practice and remain compliant. But it will be very bad news for those who don’t and think they can hide in the shadows.