The government-appointed Building Control Independent Panel has concluded that England’s current building control system “cannot deliver the assurance, consistency and conflict-free oversight” needed to protect public safety, calling for sweeping reforms that could ultimately end developers’ ability to choose their own building control provider.

A UK regulator has uncovered widespread compliance issues among manufacturers of heat-soaked thermally toughened glass (HSTTG), prompting enforcement action and renewed warnings for the construction sector about quality assurance and documentation.

Dame Judith Hackitt has called on building engineers and the wider construction profession to embrace culture change, multidisciplinary working, and higher standards of competence to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality buildings.

The Scottish Government has launched a public consultation seeking views on expanding permitted development rights (PDR) to accelerate the delivery of new homes across Scotland.

The Prime Minister’s September reshuffle has triggered another round of movement across Whitehall, with notable implications for professionals in the built environment.

The Labour government in England has hit the ground running in terms of planning, policy and infrastructure. So, what issues in the built environment have not been addressed?

Provision of single-sex toilets in non-domestic buildings in England is now regulated under Building Regulations. Hywel Davies explains the new requirements.

John Lewis has submitted a planning application to build hundreds of build-to-rent flats in Reading as part of ambitions to become a major residential landlord.

The Properties Division of Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance has made changes to Part E (Fire Safety) of the Building (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 and to Technical Booklets E (Fire Safety 2012) and R.

Ministers have been urged to overhaul the “nightmare” compensation scheme for flood victims after it emerged that nearly 80% of businesses in some parts of England had been denied support.

Anthony Burd, Past President of CABE and Director of Built Environment at BSI, explains a new subscription scheme to help small firms.

Alex Minett, global head of new markets at Veriforce CHAS, explores the role of competence in the new Building Safety Act.

Speaking at the Sir James Wates Lecture for the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Dame Judith Hackitt DBE FREng said the Final Report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a final call to construction to step up and address its problems, or face further intervention and regulation.

The 2nd edition of Bringing Back Homes – Manual for the reuse of existing buildings (2024) has been published by the Irish government.

New legislation in California has been passed that mandates safety training for companies that spend more than $100m on training a “frontier model” in AI.

The Procurement Act aims to take all of the guesswork out of bidding for contracts, but, as Peter Crush asks, will it work?

The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) calls for greater use of automation and control systems.

Tara Page, the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists’ Chief Executive, has written to the Northern Irish Assembly opposing the accelerated passage of the Defective Premises Bill, which would retrospectively extend liability for defects in houses and apartments from six years to 30 years.

Wates Group has enhanced its paternity leave policy from eight weeks to 12 weeks, and this can be taken any time within the first two years of the child being born or adopted.

In July, the new Labour government set out 40 bills and articles of draft legislation in the King’s Speech. These included the Planning and Infrastructure Bill intended to streamline and speed up planning and associated infrastructure needs to get more housing built.