Policy & Regulations

The launch of the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) has been welcomed as a major step forward in helping to restore consumer confidence and trust in the housebuilding industry.

A Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) report suggests that only one in ten construction employers understand the government’s new migration system, introduced at the beginning of 2021.

Confidential Reporting of Structural Safety. Report 886: Unconservative design of flat slab.

The government has committed to establish a national regulator for construction products as part of wider reforms to address systemic failings identified by the Hackitt Review.

Capita’s Patrick Cunningham FCABE discusses sanctions and risk in a new era for statutory control of buildings

Simplified External Wall System (EWS) guidance to help leaseholders sell flats in blocks with external cladding has been issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The Welsh government has launched a consultation on accessible toilets and baby nappy changing provision. It seeks views on proposals to:   

Government proposals to extend permitted development rights – which would allow more premises to bypass normal planning procedures and be turned into homes – need greater safeguards to protect communities, says the Construction Industry Council (CIC).

New developments should be tree-lined, beautiful and of high quality, according to a new draft national design code launched for consultation by the government to support community access to nature.

Highlights the potential for condensation to undermine the structural integrity of swimming pool ceilings

Highlights unethical behaviour and a disregard for safety from a contractor over welding specifications  

To aid with the smart meter roll-out in domestic new build properties, the Smart Metering Implementation Programme (SMIP) has published new guidance.

Has party wall surveying been lost to unethical practice, with little distinction between qualified and unqualified professionals?

In January 2021, the Grenfell inquiry was suspended because of rising Covid-19 infections in London.

Joe Cilia, Technical Director at the Finishes & Interiors Sector (FIS), considers how designers and specifiers can use the Acoustic Verification Scheme to specify products with confidence.

This situation highlights the need for temporary works to enable permanent works to be installed correctly.

The latter months of 2020 saw many sensational headlines in the media around the ongoing investigation into the Grenfell disaster. It is important to focus on the facts rather than the headlines, and video coverage of the evidence can be viewed here: grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/

This case of improvised solution on domestic projects emphasises the need for better information sharing and competence in resolving unforeseen clashes safely.

Part L and F are changing to weave energy efficiency, ventilation and overheating risk into a co-ordinated policy and, as Elaine Knutt discovers, it sees a shift in focus from CO2 to primary energy.

The Competitions and Markets Authority has announced, along with the Institute of Risk Management, the release of the updated Competition Law Risk Guide.