CONSTRUCTION AND THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Widespread ignorance on Building Safety Act
The Building Safety Act 2022, which became law in October 2023 following Dame Judith Hackitt’s Building a Safer Future Report and the lessons from London’s Grenfell Tower Fire, is expected to profoundly impact all players within the construction supply chain. It also places additional responsibilities on those who operate and maintaining certain buildings – including many in healthcare – for ensuring all aspects of their safety and compliance. A recent roundtable in Leeds saw some of the key considerations for the healthcare construction supply chain and the healthcare EFM profession discussed. HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, reports.
The roundtable – the idea of Steve Batson MIHEEM, Studio director and Sector Lead for Healthcare at architecture and masterplanning practice, Stephen George + Partners, and Phil Morrison, a Partner at Leeds-based solicitors, Clarion – was held on 11 June at Clarion’s offices. The firm had kindly offered to host the proceedings, and indeed Phil Morrison explained that he and his colleagues had seen a considerable increase in enquiries about the obligations imposed by the Act from a range of interested parties since the legislation came into force. The participants were:
n Chair, Steve Batson, Studio director and Sector Lead for Healthcare, Stephen George + Partners.
n Phil Morrison, Partner, Clarion. n Steve Crow, Business Development Director, Clarion.
n Trevor Rogers, Regulatory specialist, LABC.
n Andrew Varley, Director, International Facilities and Real Estate, Steris.
n Dean Payton, Associate, Stephen George + Partners.
n Stuart Dalton, Programme Manager, Hive Projects.
n Connie Campbell, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Hoare Lea.
n Andy Buckley, Design Director, Curtins, and
n Jonathan Baillie, Editor, Health Estate Journal.
A two-part report Given the depth of the discussion, and the subject matter covered, the roundtable lasted an hour and a half, and this report will thus run in two parts – with the first half of the event covered in this article, and the second in October’s HEJ. The discussions began with each participant introducing themselves, and providing some information on their professional role and involvement with the Building Safety Act to date. The day’s Chair, Steve Batson, explained that the roundtable had been arranged to
London’s Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 led to a major re-think on fire safety in high-rise buildings.
ensure that as many in in the healthcare construction and healthcare engineering and facilities management arena as possible, and in particular readers of HEJ, are ‘aware of what the Building Safety Act is, and what it means for the sector’. The architect feels there are ‘very varying’ levels of understanding about the Act and its implications within the sector, and considerable ignorance of some of its key provisions, particularly within some
‘‘
To be able to get a full set of O & M manuals with ‘as built drawings’ incorporated is
practically unheard of, even if it’s in the list of practical completion documentation
NHS Trusts. He said: “For instance, I have encountered complete denial among some NHS EFM personnel that the Act, and the degree of compliance it sets out, even apply to say, refurbishment projects – which is pretty alarming. With the Act now enshrined in law, there is the requirement at the key Gateway ‘stages’ – especially on the design delivery team – to ensure that all the parties have met their obligations.” “Today at this roundtable,” Steve Batson
continued, “we have representatives from different professional services who are engaging with the NHS estate – including people from the private sector working collaboratively with NHS EFM personnel, on, for example, short- or long-term leases as part of that estate. What are the ramifications here? Perhaps we can also explore how the NHS currently reports its compliance digitally, and whether that will change in terms of the Premises Assurance Model, which was re-launched this year? We also have the ERIC (Estates Returns Information Collection) reporting system – via which NHS EFM teams must report back annually on their management
September 2024 Health Estate Journal 25
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