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NHBC raises concerns over Hackitt recommendations on private inspectors
The National House Building Council (NHBC) has raised concerns over calls by Dame Judith Hackitt to overhaul building control on high-rise buildings with the creation of a new joint competent authority (JCA) to oversee building work.
Speaking today at the NHBC’s annual lunch, Isabel Hudson, chair of the board, questioned the recommendation from Dame Judith Hackitt’s report into building safety, saying its implementation would not deliver safer buildings.
Commenting on the proposed changes, Ms Hudson said: “While everyone acknowledges that change and improvements must happen, change should not be detrimental to standards and we are very concerned that some of these changes risk diluting the expertise, quality and capacity offered in the building control sector.”
As part of her report published back in May, Dame Judith was critical of the current building control process saying the there were significant weaknesses in several stages of the design and construction process.
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Under the current system, regulatory oversight of construction work is currently carried out by building control bodies at specific stages of the design and construction process.
This can be delivered through a local authority building control services or approved inspectors, of which NHBC is one of the largest, from the private sector.
As part of her recommendations, Dame Judith called on the government to creation a joint competent authority which would oversee the full lifecycle of the design and construction of a building.
The JCA would comprise local authority building standards, fire and rescue authorities and the Health and Safety Executive, thereby effectively excluding approved private inspectors.
Ms Hudson warned that the formation of the JCA and exclusion of approved inspectors could create a “two-tiered system” in building control, and cause fragmentation of expertise across the England’s 353 local authorities.
She said: “We remain concerned that, given the intense financial pressure that local authorities are under, they often lack the resources and necessary competencies required to deliver safe buildings and we are mindful of the potential conflicts of interest that undermine this further.
“In attempting to address one perceived conflict – between developer and approved inspector – we risk establishing another, with the JCA being both the regulatory body and the service delivery provider.
“In effect the local authority building control service would be regulating itself. This cannot be right.”
More on the Hackitt Review
The Hackitt Review: key recommendations at-a-glance Inside Housing breaks down the key areas of the final report from Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations
Brokenshire: government will consult on banning combustible cladding The housing secretary announces a consultation despite the Hackitt Report findings
Dame Judith Hackitt: the interview Dame Judith Hackitt spoke to Inside Housing shortly after releasing her much-anticipated review of building regulations
Final Hackitt report calls for new regulatory body but does not ban combustibles Dame Judith Hackitt has called for a regulatory body to be set up to oversee the safety of buildings, but has stopped short of a prescriptive approach or the banning of dangerous cladding.
Grenfell survivors ‘saddened and disappointed’ by Hackitt report Reaction to Hackitt’s findings decision to ignore calls for a ban on combustible cladding
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