{"id":513973,"date":"2025-02-07T12:45:45","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T12:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=513973"},"modified":"2025-02-07T09:04:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T09:04:15","slug":"hse-acknowledges-teething-troubles-with-building-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/health-and-safety\/hse-acknowledges-teething-troubles-with-building-regulation-07-02-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"HSE acknowledges \u2018teething troubles\u2019 with building regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has acknowledged there are \u201cteething troubles\u201d with its regulation of building work, but added that \u201ca very large proportion of cases\u201d fail to comply at first.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) took over building control of higher-risk building projects in April 2024, it took around 30 weeks for it to consider gateway two applications, which show a project is safe to progress to construction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, HSE chair Sarah Albon, speaking before Parliament\u2019s Work and Pensions Committee on Wednesday (5 February), said the process had reduced to an average of 16 weeks \u2014 with delays being caused by other resource pressures at collaborating authorities and a poor standard of applications submitted.<\/p>\n

Construction News\u00a0<\/em>reported last month<\/a> that the BSR had given the green light for construction of only two out of 130 higher risk building schemes submitted by developers since the start of the new gateway regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are definitely teething troubles,\u201d Albon told MPs. \u201cThere have been a number of major projects… that have been delayed. When we started a year ago, it was taking in the region of 30 weeks. We’re now down at about 16 weeks to consider an application.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Albon added that of the 16 weeks it currently takes, around six are used to \u201cidentify people from fire and rescue services and from the local authorities who could be part of the multidisciplinary team\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe lose a significant amount of time in trying to get co-regulators to find the right resource to work with us. And I should say that\u2019s not through any lack of willingness or effort from them, it\u2019s just around the strain on their own capacity,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Albon also said that \u201ca very large proportion of the cases that come in front of us are still failing to demonstrate that they meet the new safety standards that are required\u201d, which \u201cundoubtedly causes concern and cost and delay\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing somewhere still in the region of 40 per cent of cases, post-validation, when we look in detail at them, are not at first able to demonstrate that the buildings they want to build will be fit for the future and will be safe for people to live in them,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Albon said it was \u201cthe right thing\u201d to spend longer scrutinising the design and build of higher-risk buildings, adding: \u201cIf we saw everything just sail through, you\u2019d have to say, \u2018is this regulatory regime going to make a difference?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the committee hearing, Albon also said that productivity at the HSE is being impacted by having \u201ca ratio of experienced to inexperienced inspectors which is skewed much more than we are comfortable with towards newly-qualified and inexperienced\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Albon said the ratio of experienced inspectors to inspectors under training is \u201calmost 1:1\u201d due to \u201creally significant\u201d recruitment freezes during the past decade, adding that experienced inspectors have spent \u201cconsiderably more time in that mentoring, training, and development space than in an ideal world they would have\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has acknowledged there are \u201cteething troubles\u201d with its regulation of building work, but added that \u201ca very large proportion of cases\u201d fail to comply at first.\u00a0 When the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) took over building control of higher-risk building projects in April 2024, it took around 30 weeks for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90383,"featured_media":484345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[79552,547,581],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n