Building safety in Wales

The diagram sets out the high level consideration of how risks should be managed for Category 1 high rise residential buildings across their lifecycle.

1 Context of events for Wales
2 Welsh response in the immediate years
3 Welsh government white paper and consultation
4 Initial differentiation of the issues for Wales
5 Further progress in Wales to date
6 Related articles on Designing Buildings
7 External resources

[edit] Context of events for Wales

The independent review of fire safety and building regulations in relation to high-rise residential buildings (HRRBs) in England was announced in July 2017, following the infamous and tragic Grenfell Tower fire and led by Dame Judith Hackitt. The fire on the 14th June 2017 led to seventy-two people tragically loosing their lives, over seventy people injured with immense suffering and loss. It was the deadliest fire in the UK since 1988 and the worst UK residential fire since World War II and was to lead to to significant changes in the UK construction industry in the years to follow.

Whilst Wales has a good record on fire safety, the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower showed the need to make changes and improvements to building safety systems throughout the country. For many in Wales the tragedy brought back memories of one of the worst events in British history: the Aberfan disaster of 1966, not because of the nature of the incident was similar but because both were effectively avoidable. The Aberfan disaster saw the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip, which had been created on a mountain slope above a Welsh mining village and saw 116 children and 28 adults losing their lives, it, like the Grenfell tragedy, could have been avoided.

[edit] Welsh response in the immediate years

On May 17, 2018, the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Final Report (Hackitt Report) was published by the UK Government. In those years immediately following the tragedy, social housing providers in Wales instigated work to assess the fire resistance of their properties, and the Welsh Government established a Building Safety Expert Group. The Welsh Building Safety Expert Group’s road map report was published in March 2019 (Road Map to Safer Buildings in Wales).

Responding to the publication of the roadmap, Housing and Local Government Minister Julie James AM said, ‘I will reflect on the group’s recommendations, but one recommendation I will accept here and now is that we promote the retrofitting of sprinklers. Hard evidence supports sprinklers’ effectiveness in preventing fatalities, so I am committed to looking at how we can further promote retrofitting in high-rise buildings across sectors.’

The report included proposals to establish clear lines of accountability through the creation of new roles and responsibilities for those who own and manage relevant buildings. It also proposed providing a stronger regulatory system to hold those responsible to account and prioritise the needs of residents, with enhanced rights and a stronger voice on matters affecting their homes.

The Building Safety Bill 2019-20 was announced by the UK government in the Queen’s Speech on December 19, 2019, published on July 20, 2020, with the final draft published on July 5, 2021, only to be amended in April 2022 (including scrapping the role of Building Safety Manager). The bill received royal assent on April 8, 2022, becoming law as the Building Safety Act 2022.

While the act also applies to Wales, it also allows the Welsh government to implement a slightly different regime from England. While the Building Safety Act 2022 includes reserved matters, the building regulations and safety are considered devolved matters, meaning that decision-making can be delegated by Parliament to the devolved institutions such as the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland, and, in this case, the Assemblies of Wales.

[edit] Welsh government white paper and consultation

On January 12 2021, the Welsh Government published a building safety white paper entitled Safer Buildings in Wales. The white paper presents proposals for comprehensive reform of legislation that contributes to Welsh building safety. It focused on legislative change across the lifecycle of buildings and presents aspirations for culture change in the way buildings are designed, constructed and managed. The white paper explained what the Welsh Government intended to do and invited anyone with an interest in the issues covered to tell the Building Safety Team of the Welsh Government what they think of the proposals, responses requested by 12 April 2021.

The intention of the consultation was to create a rigorous building safety regime that would overhaul the existing system. The format of the paper set out questions for consideration by those involved in building safety. The Building Safety Regime being intended to cover all multi-occupied residential buildings. This meant the scope of the regime would capture a house converted into two flats, a licenced house in multiple occupation (HMO), a high-rise apartment block and other types of residential buildings where there is a risk from fire or structural safety that has the potential to impact significant numbers of people.

[edit] Initial differentiation of the issues for Wales

The white paper Safer Buildings in Wales was a response to problems found by the Hackitt Review and the Grenfell Inquiry. Whilst the problems being very similar in England and Wales, the scale of the problems was very different; in England there were over 12,000 high rise (Category 1) residential buildings, but in Wales there were approximately 148.

The introduction of the draft Building Safety Bill by the UK Government in 2019 presented an opportunity for the Welsh Government to take earlier action, responding to the need to modernise both the building control system and the way the construction industry discharges its responsibilities. Therefore, the Welsh Government made the decision to ask the UK Government to make a number of changes to the Building Act 1984 on its behalf.

In addition to identifying the initial steps for improved building safety in Wales, the white paper covered several important considerations, including:

The Building Safety Regime (Design and Construction Phase) - looking at Gateways, Dutyholders and Building Control Bodies.
The Building Safety Regime (Occupation Phase) - including fire risk assessments, mandatory reporting and so on.
Residents - Roles and Responsibilities - this defined the requirements for the Accountable Person and evacuation procedures for people with disabilities
Regulating the Building Safety Regime - this covered regulatory objectives and models, along with enforcement and sanctions.
General Requirements in Relation to Fire Safety Equipment - this proposed the consideration of stricter fire equipment measures adopted in Scotland through an amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.

[edit] Further progress in Wales to date

By July 2021, the Welsh government had identified buildings with ACM cladding with 12 remediations completed (from a fund of £10.5 million made available in 2020), with others planned and at no additional cost to leaseholders. It had started to bring forward legislation applying to Wales in relation to fire safety via the Home Office’s Fire Safety Act and the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government’s Building Safety Bill laid before the government in the same month.

The Building Safety Act 2022 (Commencement No. 1) (Wales) Regulations 2022. These Regulations provide for Section 48 (Insurance: Removal of Requirements) of the 2022 Act to come into force in Wales on July 28, 2022. The Building (Building Control Profession) (Registration, Sanctions, and Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2023 came into force on January 1, 2023, including the registration period for individual registered Building Inspectors (RBIs) of four years from the day on which registration has effect. While the registration period for Registered Building Control Approvers (RBCAs) is to be five years from the day registration takes effect,.

In August 2023, the report of the auditor general of Wales was published, 'Cracks in the Foundations', Building Safety in Wales. The report set out a number of recommendations for the Welsh Government and local authorities, which included: Providing greater clarity on the implementation and expectations of Part 3 of the Building Safety Act 2022. Ensuring that there are sufficient resources to deliver the legislative and policy changes for building safety in order to reduce implementation risks. Oversight and management of building control need to increase to ensure a robust assurance system in place for building control and safety.

The report essentially welcomed the changes to building control and building safety but highlighted that those responsible for implementing the changes were not well placed to deliver them and “unable to effectively carry out their enhanced roles” to ensure that buildings in Wales are safe. In the absence of a national framework for monitoring and evaluating building control and safety, local authorities and partners do not work to agreed-upon outcome measures and targets, which in turn “weakens scrutiny of services and does not help mitigate risk.”