Interim Report for the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety

The review is work in progress with the final report due in Spring 2018. Some of the key points made so far include:

• A cultural/behavioural change required across whole sector – the mindset of doing things as cheaply as possible and passing on responsibility for problems to others must stop
• The performance based current system of Building Regs and Fire Safety is being interpreted prescriptively and inconsistently
• Means of assessing and ensuring appropriate levels of competence is unclear and inadequate
• Methods for testing, certification and marketing of construction products and systems not clear
• Desktop studies to assess compliance of materials is not properly managed or controlled
• The Building Regs Approved Documents should be restructured and simplified
• There should be a responsible duty holder for building performance including work by sub-contractors
• A robust and coherent system of accreditation should be established covering all those who work on buildings