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First chief inspector of buildings appointed to lead Building Safety Regulator
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced that Peter Baker will become the first chief inspector of buildings for England and will lead work to set up a new Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Mr Baker, currently director of building safety and construction at the HSE, will take up the post with immediate effect and will be the first head of the building control profession.
He will head of the BSR, which was first proposed in Dame Judith Hackitt’s post-Grenfell Building a Safer Future report and was later set out in the draft Building Safety Bill in July last year.
Mr Baker has over 30 years’ experience with HSE as an inspector and in a number of senior operational posts dealing with a wide range of industry sectors, including the role of HSE’s chief inspector of construction.
Since 2017, he has led HSE’s involvement in the government’s building safety programme.
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He said: “I am honoured to be appointed as the first chief inspector of buildings and for the opportunity to play a lead role in bringing about the biggest change in building safety for a generation.
“I look forward to working with government, industry, partner regulators and residents to shape and deliver a world-class risk-based regulatory system for the safety and standards of buildings that residents can have confidence in and that we can all be proud of.”
According to the Building Safety Bill, the new regulator will have powers to take enforcement action and impose sanctions on the corporate bodies or building control companies that do not meet regulatory standards.
Sarah Newton, chair of the HSE, said Mr Baker had a long track record of working in partnership with industry and other regulators to bring about behavioural and culture change.
“His deep understanding of assessing and managing hazards and risks makes him ideally suited to shape and lead the implementation of the new building safety regime,” she said.
Dame Judith, who was appointed as an advisor for the new regulator in 2019, said of Mr Baker’s appointment: “With his impressive background experience in regulating both major hazards industries and construction, he brings a wealth of experience to this important new role.”
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