Golden thread: factsheet
Updated 5 April 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-bill-factsheets/golden-thread-factsheet
What are we going to do?
Introduce a requirement as part of the more stringent regulatory regime to create and maintain a golden thread of information.
The golden thread is both:
- the information about a building that allows someone to understand a building and keep it safe, and
- the information management to ensure the information is accurate, easily understandable, can be accessed by those who need it and is up to date.
It will be the duty of the people responsible for a building to put in place and maintain a golden thread of information. Having a golden thread will mean that those people responsible will have easily accessible, reliable, up to date and accurate information. Without this information, it is very difficult to manage buildings safely.
Implementation of the golden thread will require individuals and organisations responsible for a building to have good information management systems and a clear understanding of how information management supports building safety. Going forward the information management for safety will need to be embedded across the sector.
How are we going to do it?
We have been working closely with the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) and with them we have set up a working group on the golden thread. The working group is made up of industry experts and is focused on ensuring that the golden thread will be a tool for industry to help ensure that buildings are safe. The working group has published a report which provides an overview of the development of golden thread policy, and outlining how they have supported MHCLG with its development.
We will set out the specific requirements for the golden thread in secondary legislation. The regulations will set out the information that has to be stored in the golden thread and how the information must be kept. We will publish these regulations, and additional guidance, in draft for consultation in due course.
We intend for the information and documents required through other parts of the more stringent regulatory regime (for instance the Gateways, registration and certification, safety case, mandatory occurrence reporting and information to support residents’ engagement) to be stored in the golden thread. An example of the information that would need to be kept would be plans (which are required through the Gateways). The plans would need to include information such as details of the proposed use or uses of the building as a whole, block height in metres, number of storeys.
We intend to set out requirements on how the information in the golden thread must be kept, to ensure the information is accessible, up to date, accurate and shared easily and used by people working with different software and on different platforms. We need to do further work to develop these proposals and we will consult in due course.
We will also produce guidance on information management to help individuals and organisations understand how they can use information to better manage building safety and how they can apply the existing digital information management standards.
Background
Following the Grenfell fire, the government appointed Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an independent review of building regulations and fire safety. In her report, Building a Safer Future, Dame Judith recommended a ‘golden thread’ of good quality information, to buildings to be designed, built and managed safely. The government has committed to implementing Dame Judith’s recommendations.
Who is responsible for creating and updating the golden thread?
We will use powers within the Bill to make regulations to put a duty on the people responsible for buildings to put in place and maintain a golden thread that is accurate, accessible and up to date.
The duties will be placed on those who commission building work, participate in the design and construction process and those who are responsible for managing structural and fire safety in the building when it is occupied.
These people will be called dutyholders during design, construction phase. When a building is occupied, the Accountable Person will be responsibly for coordinating the golden thread of safety information and keeping the golden thread updated and ensuring it is accurate and accessible. If there are multiple Accountable Persons then the Principal Accountable Person will take lead responsibility for the golden thread. When a building is being refurbished this may involve both dutyholders, the Principal Accountable Person and Accountable Persons, as many buildings will remain occupied during refurbishment.
When does the golden thread start?
The golden thread needs to be created before building work starts and the golden thread must be kept updated throughout the design and construction process (for example where, through the change control process, the plans for the building work are changed). When the building work is completed the golden thread must be handed over to the Accountable Person, who is responsible for the occupied building.
In cases where the building is in scope of the new design and construction regime but not the new occupation regime (e.g. hospitals or care homes) we envisage that the golden thread will be handed to the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005). However, this policy is in development and we will provide more details in due course.
Existing buildings that are in scope of the occupation regime also need to have a golden thread. However, when these buildings were designed and constructed they did not go through the Gateways process, therefore, the Principal Accountable Person will be responsible for developing and coordinating the golden thread, with input from other Accountable Persons (where applicable), these Accountable Persons will be responsible for maintaining and updating the golden thread for their respective parts of the building.
What information is going to be in the golden thread?
In design and construction and refurbishment the golden thread should contain the information needed to demonstrate compliance with specified building regulations (required through the Gateways or refurbishment process).
When the building is completed this information will be handed over to person responsible for the completed building (who is called the Principal Accountable Person).
In occupied buildings the golden thread should contain the information needed for the safety of the building and its residents. The golden thread will contain the information and documents produced for registration and certification, safety case, mandatory occurrence reporting and resident engagement. Buildings which are newly built and have gone through the Gateways process will also have the information produced through the Gateway process.
For buildings going through prescribed refurbishment, the documents approved by the regulator under building control applications for building work in existing higher-risk buildings will need to be stored in the golden thread.
We will set out the specific requirements in regulations and will consult on the draft regulations and guidance in due course. The information held in the golden thread will be critical to supporting dutyholders, the Principal Accountable Person and Accountable Persons in their duty to ensure building safety.
Does the golden thread have to be digital?
Yes, the golden thread will have to be kept in a digital format. We will set out the specific requirements and digital standards in regulations and guidance. Having the information available digitally will mean it is more accessible and can be easily updated. This means it will be available to the people who need it in order to maintain building safety.
To be clear, we will not be mandating the use of specific software or tools.
Will residents be able to access the golden thread?
Residents will be provided with information about their building and have the right to request further information on their building from the person responsible for their building (called the Principal Accountable Person).
We intend to make regulations as to the types of information that will be provided to residents, and we will consult on the detailed proposals in due course.