I think we need to ensure the competence of enforcement and that it works, and the competence of the people who assess buildings and sign them off as fit for human habitation. In the same way with crime where we want an absence of crime, we want an absence of these problems. Yes, we need to improve enforcement and there needs to be the strong arm of the law. That is why we want to have a strong regulator in this new regulator under the HSE. We have Housing Act powers for local authorities to intervene. The fire service has powers under the fire safety order. There are lots of powers and lots of regulators that can step in and do something about it. In this case, they all failed. Yes, we need to strengthen them. We understand a lot more about the inadequacies of some of the built environment, but my noble friend is right that we also need to strengthen enforcement.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, for his amendments. On Amendment 1, I hope noble Lords will agree that the regulator should exercise its functions in line with its first objective: to secure the safety of people in and around buildings. I am concerned that adding additional objectives for the new building safety regulator could distract from this mission. The Bill provides the regulator with a broader objective to improve the standard of buildings. Achieving this could involve the regulator improving regulatory standards relevant to property protection, such as security, resilience and fire safety, so the regulator’s remit already extends to considering these issues.
Adding a specific objective for property protection would have two main downsides. First, it would put property protection on a par with resident safety as a priority for the regulator. The Government believe that the regulator should prioritise residents’ safety and do not want the regulator to be distracted from that.
There is a risk that a specific requirement always to consider property protection would result in the regulator favouring solutions that go beyond what is required for residents’ safety. The second downside is that this amendment risks skewing the building safety regulator’s oversight function. The Government intend the regulator to use evidence to identify emerging issues with the safety and performance of buildings and to make recommendations to Ministers on regulatory changes where needed. A property protection objective would distract the regulator from using evidence to identify and rectify the most pressing issues, which might, for example, relate to net zero and sustainability rather than property protection.
The pre-legislative scrutiny committee considered property protection but found that the existing objectives are a sensible starting point—I emphasise “starting point”. The committee suggested that the Government keep this under review. We are committed to doing this through the provision in Clause 135 for a regular independent review of the effectiveness of the regulator and the wider regulatory system.
Turning to Amendment 12, there are already powers for building regulations to cover specific aspects of building resilience. We believe that it is better that building regulations are targeted on specific issues rather than open-ended requirements. However, we recognise that, for residential buildings, further research into property protection is warranted. The impact of the loss of a home is significant, so we are taking this forward as part of the technical review of approved document B on fire safety. I thank the noble Lord for suggesting these amendments and respectfully ask him to withdraw Amendment 1.
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I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe for her Amendment 2. I hope to persuade the Committee that we have provided adequate safeguards to prevent the building safety regulator becoming an overly bureaucratic regulator. The Government are clear that the new building safety regulator must follow regulatory best practice. Clause 3 sets out the principles that the regulator must operate proportionately and target action only where necessary. Clauses 4 and 6 ensure that the building safety regulator works proactively with businesses, both small and large, to facilitate the improvements to competence and safety that are needed. The Health and Safety Executive, which will deliver the building safety regulator, is required to have regard to the Regulators’ Code. The code stipulates that it must carry out its activities in a way that supports those it regulates—business, builders and technicians—to comply and grow. The Health and Safety Executive will build on its more than 40 years’ experience of delivering a proportionate and robust regulatory regime.
I have concerns about going even further and placing further duties to support business in the Bill. Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review and the public inquiry are uncovering serious failures. I would not want Parliament inadvertently to send the message to the regulator that it does not have our backing to enforce robustly rules around safety, where business will not comply. In the light of my assurances, I hope that my noble friend will consider not pressing her amendment.
Turning to Amendment 4, on the definition of safety in Clause 3, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Crisp, Lord Blunkett and Lord Stunell, and my noble friend Lord Young for raising this important matter. Under Clause 3, the regulator has two objectives: to secure safety and, crucially, to improve the standard of buildings. Improving the standard of buildings extends to issues such as damp, thermal efficiency—including insulation—safe stairs and access to light. Section 1 of the Building Act 1984 ensures that building regulations can address welfare, convenience and health and safety in relation to buildings.
Turning to the safety objective, we want a focused objective to guide the regulator to prioritise preventing a tragedy such as Grenfell Tower happening again. It would confuse the regulator’s mission if Parliament instructed it to treat safety as encompassing well-being in Part 2 but, in Part 4, to treat safety as focused on preventing and mitigating serious risks to life. If the new Part 4 regime for safety in occupied high-rise residential buildings were expanded to cover well-being, buildings would need costly remediation for reasons going well beyond the physical safety of residents. This would not be proportionate. Finally, the safety objective can already cover risks to safety relating to the location, construction or management of buildings. The Health and Safety Executive acts as a statutory consultee in relation to high-rise residential buildings at the planning stage, and this Bill addresses both construction and occupation. I therefore invite the noble Lord to consider not pressing his amendment.
I am sad that my noble friend Lord Blencathra was unable to deliver his speech. I always enjoy his speeches; they are absolutely priceless. However, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, for stepping into the breach at short notice and doing such a fine job. I turn to my noble friend’s Amendments 8 and 44. On Amendment 8, I thank him for raising this important matter through the noble Baroness, but I am afraid that the Government will not be able to accept this amendment. Unfortunately, I must point out that the amendment would mean that a simple change in design could result in a building meeting or no longer meeting the criteria to be a higher-risk building, which would risk uncertainty and confusion for the industry.
The clause already provides powers to allow the definition of higher-risk buildings to include buildings less than 18 metres in height. A recommendation or advice from the building safety regulator must be provided and a cost-benefit analysis undertaken to do this. Our approach to the definition of higher-risk buildings is proportionate to the level of risk potentially found in these buildings. It was chosen following extensive engagement with stakeholders and ensures that the regime can be delivered by the building safety regulator.
Amendment 44 relates to Clause 62. I am afraid our assessment is that, even with supporting secondary legislation, this amendment would have the unintended effect of causing uncertainty for building owners and residents. For example, if a fire detection system broke, then it would be inadequate and the building would become a higher-risk building. Once it was fixed, the building would no longer be a higher-risk building and subject to the new regime. The same scenario could
apply to a broken sprinkler and smoke suppression systems, which could leave evacuation routes inadequate as they may have protected them. Finally, construction materials can be used in varying quantities and in various combinations, and whether they are appropriate is very context specific. We therefore concluded that it would be inappropriate to base the regime around the factors proposed in the amendment.
We are focusing on high-rise residential buildings, as the risk to multiple households is greater when fire spreads in buildings of this height. I assure my noble friend that the Government are taking action to protect all residents. This includes the building safety regulator having wider responsibilities for overseeing the safety of all buildings. This will drive continuous improvement in buildings’ performance to ensure the safety of occupants. In light of this, I ask him, through the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, not to press his amendment.
Finally, I turn to Amendment 9. I recognise the concerns which have led to noble Lords laying this amendment and assure them that the Bill makes provision for the building safety regulator to consider a wide range of factors which influence the level of risk in categories of building before making recommendations or providing advice about which categories of buildings should be considered higher-risk. In addition, Clause 5 places a duty on the building safety regulator to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review. This could include considering the effect of factors, such as the general occupant profile for different types of buildings, on the safety of people in or about buildings. Where the regulator identifies an issue, it will consider whether it must recommend to the Secretary of State that a category of building should be defined as a higher-risk building, ahead of a change being made in regulations. In light of this, I ask that this amendment is not pressed.
I am particularly grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Grey-Thompson and Lady Brinton, for tabling Amendments 4A, 7A, 7B and 147A. I assure them that, where the Bill refers to residents, this includes residents with disabilities. The Government and the Health and Safety Executive are committed to providing residents with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences, including disabled residents, with a strong voice in the new regulatory system. The Health and Safety Executive is actively seeking representation of the disabled community on its statutory residents’ panel and is committed to working with and seeking the views of organisations that represent disabled interests. I engaged extensively with Claddag; I think it is a fantastic group that we need to continue to learn from.
In individual high-rise residential buildings in scope of the new regulatory regime, the Bill ensures that all residents will be kept informed about the safety of their building. Principal accountable persons must establish a residents’ engagement strategy, which will promote the participation of all residents in decision-making about their building’s safety. Residents will be entitled to raise building safety issues with the appropriate accountable person and escalate complaints to the building safety regulator where the accountable person has not resolved their safety concerns. Even in blocks
where the new regulatory regime will not apply, the fire safety order requires fire risk assessments to include safety measures the responsible person has taken and any group of persons identified as being especially at risk. The Bill requires recording the assessment in full, supporting greater compliance with the order. In light of my assurances, I hope the noble Baronesses will not press their amendments.
A number of noble Lords, including the noble Baronesses, Lady Hayman of Ullock and Lady Grey-Thompson, asked when we will publish our response on PEEPs. I have been told that it will not be published shortly but that it will be published in the coming weeks.