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As the need for greater awareness and understanding of the Building Safety Act (BSA) persists within the industry, Nicola John, Managing Director of FDM Training
Eight years on from Dame Judith Hackitt’s Building a Safer Future report, which demanded a systemic overhaul of the construction regulation system, and four years after the introduction of the BSA, our industry still faces misconceptions regarding crucial rules and responsibilities. In fact, a recent survey cited during last year’s FDM roundtable revealed that an alarming 85% of people on the Constructionline register, one of the UK’s most widely used contractor databases, believe the Building Safety Act doesn’t apply to them. They are wrong.
Competence as a legal concept industry have heard of Section 35 of the BSA, many still don’t understand what 35 isn’t about best practice or gap tolerances; it makes competence a requirement under building regulations, ending the era of merely ticking boxes and signing forms, and instead demands proof that whoever has done the work is competent to do it. The illusion of compliance FDM’s 2025 roundtable made it clear that there is still much confusion and
fragmentation across the sector, creating a dangerous illusion of compliance. In addition, last year the Fire Door Inspection Scheme found that, along with gaps, faulty doors and maintenance failed inspections due to incorrect doors designed to compartmentalise a installed from day one. And this competence issue is exactly what Section 35 is trying to address. Of course, not all competency issues
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