Building safety case

In the context of the UK Building Safety Act, a Safety Case refers to a comprehensive document that outlines the safety measures, risk assessments, and management strategies for a higher-risk building. The Safety Case is a key requirement under the Building Safety Act, aimed at ensuring that dutyholders proactively manage safety risks and prioritize the safety of building occupants and the public.

A reformed building safety regulatory system, Government response to the ‘Building a Safer Future’ consultation, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, April 2020 suggests that a building safety case is: ‘A structured argument, supported by a body of evidence that provides a compelling, comprehensible, evidenced and valid case as to how the Accountable Person is proactively managing and controlling fire and structural risks.’

Where the accountable person is: ‘The duty-holder during a building’s occupation.’

And duty-holders are: ‘The key roles (whether fulfilled by individuals or organisations) that are assigned specific responsibilities at particular phases of the building life cycle.’

'The safety case should refer to the totality of the building safety information and include all supporting evidence identifying how fire and structural risks are being managed – this information should be stored in the golden thread. The safety case report should contain an introduction which indicates how the fire and structural risks in a building are being managed by the Building Safety Manager. This should be followed by a written explanation and justification of the approach being taken to manage risks, referencing the supporting evidence in the safety case.'

Under the proposals set out in the consultation, the building safety case will be submitted to the buildings safety regulator by the accountable person and maintained by the building safety manager.

The process of preparing the safety case will involve:

Identifying hazards.
Deciding who might be harmed and how.
Evaluating the risks associated with these hazards.
Deciding on the necessary control and mitigation measures.
Recording those findings and implementing them.
Evaluating and monitoring on an ongoing basis.

The Explanatory Notes to the Draft Building Safety Bill, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government on 20 July 2020, defines a Safety Case Report as: 'A structured argument, supported by a body of evidence that provides a compelling, comprehensible, evidenced and valid case as to how the Accountable Person is proactively managing fire and structural risks in order to prevent a major incident and limit the consequences to people in and around the building.'