A comprehensive overview of the strategic plan

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released its strategic plan for the newly established Building Safety Regulator, outlining its mission, objectives, and detailed activities for the period from 2023 to 2026.

This plan represents a significant step in the transformation of building and fire safety regulations, following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.

Mission and objectives

The Building Safety Regulator’s mission is to protect people and places, creating a built environment where competence and responsibility ensure high-quality, safe buildings.

This mission is particularly significant in the wake of past tragedies.

The Regulator aims to improve the safety and standards of all buildings, ensure the safety of residents in higher-risk buildings, and restore trust in the built environment sector.

Key areas of focus

Delivering consistent standards within the building control profession

The Building Safety Regulator’s strategic plan underscores the importance of establishing a regulated building control profession.

This initiative involves setting a common standard of competence and assuring the performance behaviors and outcomes of building control bodies.

The overarching goals are to improve competence standards and consistency, increase public confidence in building control, and establish a respected profession​​.

Overseeing and driving improvements across the built environment

Another focal area of the plan is to oversee and drive improvements across the built environment.

This involves identifying and assessing emerging risks to the safety and standard of all buildings, providing expert advice, producing technical standards, and promoting and improving competence standards essential to safety.

The Regulator will keep abreast of changes and trends within the built environment, developing a proactive understanding of innovation, new and emerging legacy issues, and their impact on building safety and standards​​.

Regulating the planning, design, and construction of new higher-risk buildings

The strategic plan also focuses on regulating the planning, design, and construction of new higher-risk buildings.

This includes ensuring fire safety is incorporated into the planning of new buildings and improving design and construction standards.

By doing so, the Regulator aims to ensure safer buildings and greater trust in safety​​.

Ensuring responsible management of higher-risk buildings

A crucial aspect of the plan is ensuring that those responsible for higher-risk buildings manage risks effectively to keep residents safe.

The Regulator will ensure that Accountable Persons identify the safety risks of fire spread and structural failure in their buildings and put in place proportionate measures to manage them safely.

This initiative aims to increase resident confidence and assure them when they move into a new higher-risk building and when work is carried out in their building​​.

Evaluation and performance

The plan includes a comprehensive evaluation and performance strategy, ensuring continuous review and adaptation of its approaches in response to emerging trends and insights.

IFSJ Comment

The HSE’s strategic plan for the Building Safety Regulator marks a pivotal moment in the quest for a safer, more responsible built environment.

By setting clear objectives and a robust performance framework, the plan targets future interventions and regulatory activities to prevent tragedies like Grenfell Tower.

The focus on consistent standards, risk assessment, and resident engagement underlines a proactive approach towards building safety.

This plan is not just a regulatory framework; it’s a blueprint for cultural change in the built environment, aiming to rebuild trust and ensure the safety and quality of buildings for future generations.