As we are all aware, in response to the tragic events at Grenfell Tower, the government has spent the last few years looking to reform the fire and structural safety regime for all higher-risk buildings. After the Hackitt report, and a consultation at the beginning of 2020, this process has now culminated in the publication this July of the draft Building Safety Bill. The bill will be the most significant regulatory reform in the sector for years and is likely to take effect in autumn 2021.

The newly created Building Safety Regulator will sit within the Health and Safety Executive and, as part of its remit, it will establish a system of mandatory occurrence reporting for duty-holders for any structural safety or fire safety related event that is perceived to represent a significant risk to life in multi-occupied residential buildings. Such reporting will allow the regulator to investigate incidents and take early action.

However, in addition to this mandatory regime, a voluntary reporting scheme is also being introduced. This voluntary scheme is intended to capture and share information with the wider industry through an expansion of the existing Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety scheme (CROSS).

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