Expert panel for the building safety programme. Northern Ireland.

[edit] Establishing the expert panel for the building safety programme in Northern Ireland

In December 2021, the Northern Ireland (NI) Executive agreed to the Department of Finance (DoF) establishing an Expert Panel to review the key issues highlighted by Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and to look at the legal and policy responsibilities of NI Departments and Local Authorities for building and fire safety in NI.

The Panel was asked ‘to make recommendations to improve the NI regime for building safety; ensure a robust future regulatory system and framework; and ‘provide assurance to residents that the buildings they live in are safe’.

[edit] Expert panels first report and 15 recommendations

After setting Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Panel and a number of meetings the Expert Panel’s work concluded in April and a report was published in December 2023. The report ‘Improving Safety in High Rise Residential Buildings in Northern Ireland’, made 15 recommendations, under different area headings which are outlined in brief below. This was published alongside a note of 'the importance of implementing this work as rapidly as possible, and to ensure sufficiently skilled resources are provided to support these activities.' All 15 recommendation a further outlined in brief here, for full details download the report via the link above.:

[edit] Continuing the work recommended by the expert panel (recommendations 1-2)

Recommendation 1: A full-time building safety team (the interim team) to develop further detail and a ‘roadmap’ for the implementation of the recommendations in this report, including the establishment of an ‘office for building safety’ (OBS), with the roadmap, then developed within three months.

Recommendation 2: Adequate resources (financial, people, etc.) should be allocated to provide appropriate knowledge, skills, expertise, and support services to implement the recommendations of the report, including the use of external specialists or the establishment of task and finish groups.

[edit] Culture & competency (recommendations 3-4)

Recommendation 3: Life safety must be advocated and incorporated in the guidance and policies developed by the obs to raise competencies and behaviours and improve the culture and attitudes of the actors involved in the end-to-end process.

Recommendation 4: The OBS should identify and define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities, for actors involved in the end-to-end process. The Competence requirements and accreditations needed should then be mapped. A procedural approach should then be provided for specifying, recording and monitoring competency requirements and accreditations for all actors involved in High Rise Residential Buildings (HRRBs).

[edit] Structure & resources (recommendations 5-6)

Recommendation 5: The OBS should endorse the view that a HRRB is a complex system that needs to be treated as ‘one overall entity’ and resourced appropriately. The functions of the OBS should include, but not be limited to:

1. Providing oversight and coordination of fire and building safety matters related to the end-to-end process;
2. Driving clear strategic policy direction, leadership, continuity, guidance and support for fire and building safety matters;
3. Forming a close working relationship with appropriate public bodies and central government departments in other jurisdictions; and
4. Continually reviewing and researching, as necessary, other subjects which could impact positively or negatively on fire and building. Safety matters (e.g. Electric vehicle parking/charging, underground car parks).

Recommendation 6: There are synergies in central and local government, such as, those between planning policy, building regulations, health and safety, environmental health and planning and building control functions in local councils. If changes are identified that enhance the effectiveness of the regulatory system for HRRBs, the OBS should work with local and central government to facilitate collaboration and align functions were necessary.

[edit] Processes, records & information (recommendations 7-8)

Recommendation 7: The interim team should collaborate with land and property services (LPS) to establish and maintain a public register of HRRBs. The OBS should hold up-to-date information on hrrbs and details of building owners/managers.

Recommendation 8: The OBS should establish a robust oversight gateway system covering the control and coordination of the end-to-end process. This system should include a series of integrated ‘approval gateways’. Approval to proceed through the approval gateway is required for any new build HRRB, or existing HRRB which is subject to alterations (defined by the OBS as ‘significant alterations’ in consultation with planning and building regulations / building control). The work associated with designing this oversight gateway system should consider matters such as:

1. Identifying and addressing weaknesses, duplications and gaps in the current overall regulatory system;
2. Identifying the deliverables which the obs needs to control and coordinate receipt of, as an ‘overseer’ in the end to end process;
3. Identifying, agreeing and implementing approval gateways in the end-to-end process, clearly indicating when such deliverables should be submitted to the obs before work can continue;
4. Defining any additional inspection or certification regimes or roles required (without diminishing any liabilities, accountabilities or responsibilities already carried by any actor in the regulatory process or through any other contractual obligations);
5. Establishing a strategy for the notification of changes - a ‘change control mechanism’ that deals with changes specific to those defined as ‘significant’ for hrrbs by the obs, and different from other statutory requirements of planning or building control;
6. Establishing a strategy for the management of hrrbs in occupation, including the consideration of building safety cases, resident engagement strategies, risk assessments, and others as required; and
7. To clarify the responsibilities of actors throughout the end-to-end process to ensure the ‘golden thread’1 of building record information is maintained for HRRBs.

[edit] Policy, legislation & guidance (recommendation 9)

Recommendation 9: The obs should review existing policies, legislation and guidance to identify any amendments needed and any new policies, legislation and guidance required to enable the end-to-end process. This should be carried out by collaborating with the central government departments responsible for these policies, legislation and guidance to:

1. Remove duplication in the current control and regulation of hrrbs;
2. Clarify what amendments to current guidance, policies or legislation is required to strengthen the current regime for hrrbs;
3. Identify where new guidance, policy and legislation is required and work with the relevant department to develop this; and
4. Review and approve any proposals for amendments to existing legislation, regulations or guidance, that are currently in-train or under

[edit] Implementation of key safety measures (recommendations 10-12)

Recommendation 10: Introduce a mandatory requirement for smoke and heat alarms to be installed in all existing dwellings, similar to the approach implemented in Scotland.

Recommendation 11:Consider the introduction of appropriate fire suppression systems, such as sprinklers, in new HRRBS. A cost-benefit analysis should be completed prior to the implementation of the recommendation.

Recommendation 12: Carry out a review of whether two or more escape staircases are required in new HRRBS. A cost-benefit analysis should be completed as part of this review.

[edit] Assessment & remediation of existing stock (recommendations 13-15)

Recommendation 13: An application to remediate one building, with unsafe aluminium composite material (acm) cladding fitted, has been received by the Department of finance. The remediation works should commence in April 2023. This is supported by the expert panel.

Recommendation 14: The department for communities (dfc) is developing a potential scheme for ni, using the model of the English building safety fund, to assess, and potentially fund, remediation required to buildings in ni fitted with unsafe non-ACM cladding. This panel considers that this work should be expedited urgently.

Recommendation 15: Establish a strategy to define the requirements for assessment, funding and remediation of life safety issues in existing HRRBS that may have additional vulnerabilities and problems that need to be rectified.

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[edit] External links

https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/publications/improving-safety-high-rise-residential-buildings-northern-ireland