Policy & Regulations

Collaborative reporting for safer structures. Report 1017: brick slips falling from height

Architects from across the UK are being given the opportunity to shape the future of the profession, as part of a wholesale review that will modernise regulation and improve accessibility and innovation in the sector.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has completed its suite of novation agreements and related collateral warranties with its 'switch' documents, along with updated guidance.

The government in England has launched a consultation on its updated design guide for fire safety in schools. Building Bulletin 100 (BB 100) is non-statutory guidance, which covers designing a school building to have early warning systems and evacuation routes, advises how to minimise the spread of fire and how to ensure the building structure is adequately resistant to fire, as well as requirements for access and facilities for the Fire and Rescue Services. The updated Bulletin contains guidance on compliance with Building Regulations Part B (Fire Safety), school-specific fire risks, property protection and fire safety management.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has released two important building safety frameworks, the BSI Flex 8670 and the PAS 8673.

Wavin’s Karen Stables explains how commercial building engineers need to consider the acoustics of wastewater systems

Legrand UK & Ireland’s guide Creating Cable Pathways has been launched to provide electrical installers with assistance and recommendations on how to best specify cable containment systems, explaining how to create a cable pathway through a building while navigating the current standards landscape.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has responded to the consultation on public procurement.

The Scottish government has written to local authority chief executives advising of changes being introduced to published guidance within the building standards technical handbooks, which should be applied from 1 April 2021.

Building insulation manufacturer, Kingspan, confirmed as part of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that it has retracted three test reports of external wall systems, including its K15 phenolic foam insulation product.

Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety. Report 645: Response to Report 614 on missing columns from drawings

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.