Building Safety Act 2022: Key publications and guidance

The new building safety regime is now here. The Building Safety Act and associated secondary legislation has changed the way the industry design and constructs buildings. Key publications and associated industry guidance are listed below:

1. Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: final report

The review’s final report which was commissioned by government following the Grenfell Tower fire to make recommendations on the future regulatory system.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-building-regulations-and-fire-safety-final-report

2. Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act, which was granted Royal Assent on 28 April 2022
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/30/contents/enacted

3. The Building Safety Act – Government Guidance

‘What it means’ guidance, links to relevant documents and secondary legislation consultation
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-building-safety-act

4. The Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023

Further legislation applying to higher-risk buildings
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2023/9780348242812/contents

5. Duty holder competencies

Duty holder competencies have been defined in a series of open British Standards
https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/industries-and-sectors/construction-and-the-built-environment/built-environment-competence-standards

6. Building Regulations Advisory Committee: golden thread report

An overview of the development of golden thread policy, and how it has been progressed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, working with the Health and Safety Executive, supported by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee golden thread working group.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-regulations-advisory-committee-golden-thread-report/building-regulations-advisory-committee-golden-thread-report#golden-thread-definition

7. Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime

Documents relating to the independent review led by Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day KC.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the-construction-product-testing-regime

8. Office for Product Safety and Standards – Alerts, Reports and Recalls

Information on OPSS product safety alerts, reports and recalls for unsafe products and resources for consumers, businesses and regulators.
https://www.gov.uk/product-safety-alerts-reports-recalls?product_category%5B%5D=construction-products

9. HSE Overview of the new regime

Overview of the new regime that principal designers, principal contractors, and clients must follow when designing and constructing higher-risk buildings.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/building-safety/building-control/regime-overview.htm

10. HSE - Design and building work: meeting building requirements

What architects need to know regarding the new building regulations, new duty holder roles and associated duties.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/design-and-building-work-meeting-building-requirements

11. RIBA guidance

What architects need to know regarding the new building regulations, new duty holder roles and associated duties.
https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/riba-building-safety-act-resources-for-architects

12. Build UK guidance

Guidance for contractors and clients
https://builduk.org/information

13. CIBSE guidance

Guidance for building services engineers
https://www.cibse.org/policy-insight/key-policy-areas/building-safety-act

14. IStructE guidance

Guidance for structure engineers
https://www.istructe.org/resources/building-safety-act

15. RIBA Principal Designer's Guide

Companion guide that provides practitioners with the required knowledge regarding the Principal Designer role as it relates to the Building Safety Act.
https://www.ribabooks.com/riba-principal-designers-guide_9781915722201

16. CLC Golden Thread Guidance

Published guidance on the golden thread requirements from The Construction Leadership Council
https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/news/golden-thread-guidance

17. Building Safety Act webinar series

Webinar series from The Health and Safety Executive
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUgskOJdB41BdTpVTUYAOxkxt8JVuyFTP&si=KrfXpL264l4GT2Uo

Further reading

• Constructing A Safer Future: Building Safety Act White Paper
  This NBS white paper, driven by a comprehensive survey of hundreds of construction professionals, highlights a concerning lack of consensus and clarity among industry leaders. The findings reveal that half of industry professionals remain unclear on the responsibilities of duty holders for the Gateways defined for higher-risk buildings.
• Irresistible force meets immovable object - Construction and The Building Safety Act
  The new building safety regime is now here. The Building Safety Act and associated secondary legislation has changed the way the industry design and constructs buildings. Richard Waterhouse non-exec director at the BBA gives his opinion in this introduction to an NBS collection of content that takes a detailed look at the new regime.
• Article one – The Building Safety Act and it's implications for specifiers and manufacturers
  The enactment of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) is one of the most fundamental changes to construction in decades. In this, the first of a series of articles from NBS, Richard Waterhouse non-exec director at the BBA looks at what the act means for specifiers and construction manufacturers.
• Article two – Building control regime for higher-risk buildings – gateway 2, gateway 3 and the ‘golden thread’
  One of the most discussed aspects of the new building safety regime is 'the golden thread' of digital information. In this article, Richard Waterhouse non-exec director at the BBA, examines the information gateways and the change control process that form this golden thread.