LABC notice of changes to building control works
The Building Safety Act is changing the way Building Control works in England. Registration of Building Control Surveyors will be mandatory from April 2024 and oversight of Building Control Teams will soon be mandatory with the likelihood of strong sanctions and financial penalties for teams which are not ready.
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR), operating as part of HSE, has now set out the Operational Standards Rules (OSRs) for building control bodies including those in Local Authorities, which require information to be collected to enable the Regulator to assess and analyse the performance of your team.
It is important that you have ensured that your back-office IT system is fit for purpose and fully supported by your corporate IT service, and they are ready to start reporting to the BSR. As part of these preparations LABC is currently offering access to our fully funded externally audited BSI ISO 9001 Quality Management System. Does your team have such a system in place yet?
A raft of Secondary Legislation has recently been implemented with more to come. LABC continues to issue guidance to their members via regular newsletters and emails, and all of this information is available in the members area of their website. This includes a requirement for considerably more information to be collected on application forms and before certification is issued by your authority. Have your new forms been made available to applicants yet?
Remember that all building control surveyors must be registered with the BSR by April 2024 as Registered Building Inspectors in order to carry out plan checking and site inspections and will have to prove their competence against the Building Inspector Competence Framework (BICoF). Any surveyor not on the register by April 2024 will no longer be able to undertake these restricted activities and functions which will have serious implications for local authorities in terms of resilience, reputation, and income.
There are now three routes available to demonstrate competence. One of these is through the Building Safety Competence Foundation (BSCF), the community interest company created by LABC. We have secured government funding to cover the costs of the competence validation assessment for your staff. There will be additional costs in registering with the BSR. Which route are your surveyors taking?
- Are they taking advantage of the funding available to use the BSCF route?
- Have they all started this process? Some experienced surveyors may be reluctant to undertake this formal assessment.
- Will this have an impact on your staffing levels and ability to meet the requirements of the BICoF when they are unable to practise?
- Do you have the necessary contingency plans in place?
- Do you need further support from our team at LABC?
You must act now to ensure your team is ready for registration, reporting, and resourcing.
Please contact LABC if you require any help with these changes.