Transparency data

Building Safety Regulator Accounting Officer Assessment (July 2023)

Updated 21 October 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

It is normal practice for accounting officers to scrutinise significant policy proposals or plans to start or vary major projects, and then assess whether they measure up to the standards set out in Managing Public Money. From April 2017, the government has committed to making a summary of the key points from these assessments available to Parliament where it involves a project within the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio.

This Accounting Officer Assessment considers the Building Safety Regulator Programme with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (an Arm’s Length Body of DWP) being announced as the new regulator in shadow form in January 2020 prior to the Building Safety Act receiving Royal Assent in April 2022.

1. Background

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) established the Building Safety Programme to ensure that buildings and their residents are safe and feel safe, now and in the future. Part of the programme is implementing recommendations from Dame Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, one of which was a new more stringent regulatory regime to ensure the safety of high-rise residential buildings, as well as wider improvements to the oversight of the built environment and the oversight and competence of those working in building control and on buildings.

The HSE was chosen to deliver the main regulatory changes as the preferred, most effective and efficient approach. Dame Hackitt felt that establishing the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in HSE would allow the new regulator to build on HSE’s relevant expertise and send the right signals to industry that the regulator would be robust and proportionate. Accordingly, in January 2020 the then DLUHC Secretary of State (SoS), announced that the BSR was to be established in the HSE, operating in ‘shadow’ form ahead of the necessary primary and secondary legislation coming into force.

Following establishment of the shadow BSR in January 2020, HSE has been undertaking preparatory work in readiness for the new regulatory regime working closely with other regulators (specifically local authority building control and fire and rescue authorities) to co-ordinate activity. HSE has engaged closely with DLUHC and stakeholders and has produced a high-level multi-year Transition Plan, delivering across a wide range of workstreams.

DLUHC have policy ownership and are accountable for Building Safety. Following on from Royal Assent of the Bill (28 April 2022) and when secondary legislation comes into force, the BSR will have a remit, across England, to oversee and enforce the new building safety regime for high rise buildings and ensuring that buildings and their residents are and feel safe, now and in the future. The new reforms will have wider benefits, helping to restore confidence in the ‘broken’ regulatory system and delivering a cultural shift in approaches to building safety across industry.

2. Assessment against Accounting Officer Standards

2.1. Regularity

The Building Safety Act 2022 provided the necessary powers to build a more rigorous and robust regulatory regime. This will be supplemented by the passing of the necessary secondary legislation in advance of the phased implementation of the new regime which started from April 2023 with further secondary legislation planned in Autumn 2023. The assessment is that the regularity test is met.

2.2. Propriety

The programme has a multi-faceted/multi-layered assurance approach combining 3rd line external independent assurance, 2nd line corporate oversight and programme/project level quality and assurance.

The programme has been subject to review by HM Treasury, Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) IPA Gateway reviews and DLUHC’s Investment Sub-Committee (ISC).

The assessment is that the propriety test is met.

2.3. Value for Money

The preferred option aims to deliver a proportionate, risk based targeted regime, where enhanced support is focused on the areas of greatest risks and where the biggest improvements are needed. The regulator would work in partnership with industry to drive the required culture change, whilst providing the leadership to set direction for both industry and the building control profession through its oversight functions. HSE and other regulators effort would be prioritised to have the greatest impact whilst ensuring a proportionate regulatory approach. This achieves approximately £182m in net present benefits to society, a c.1.5 benefit cost ratio for DLUHC and an overall 1.08 BCR for society.

The assessment is that the value for money test is met.

2.4. Feasibility

Delivery of the BSR to the planned timescales is challenging but the agreed phased approach to standing up the various functions and agile approach provide the necessary assurance. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Gateway 2 was completed in May 2022 with all associated actions cleared and a Gateway 3 review was completed week commencing 27 March 2023 with all recommendations being actioned.

The assessment is that the feasibility test is met.

3. Conclusion

In conclusion I have prepared this summary to set out the key points which informed my decision. My overall assessment is that the Building Safety Regulator Programme meet the requirements of the 4 accounting officer tests of regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility. If any of these factors change materially during the lifetime of this programme, I undertake to prepare a revised summary, setting out my assessment of those factors. This summary will be published on the government’s website (GOV.UK). Copies will be deposited in the library of the House of Commons and sent to the Comptroller and Auditor General and Treasury Officer of Accounts.

Sarah Albon
HSE Accounting Officer