Building Regulations Process and progress

1
Building RegulationsProcess and progress

• Brian Martin
• Sustainable Buildings and Climate Change
  Directorate
• Communities and Local Government

2
Building Regulations Process and progress

• Introduction
• Fire safety Building Regulations
• Process
• Better Regulation
• Impact Assessment
• Consultation
• Progress
• Environmental considerations
• Car Parks

3
Fire Safety
Building Regulations
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
New Altered Buildings
Buildings In Use
Community Fire Safety
Product Safety
4
Escape Rescue

• B1 Means of Warning Escape
• Fire detection alarm
• Escape routes
• B5 Access Facilities for the Fire Rescue
  Service
• Vehicle Access
• Personnel Access
• Fire Mains

5
Limiting fire spread

• B2 Internal Fire Spread (Linings)
• B3 Internal Fire Spread (Structure)
• Compartmentation
• Loadbearing elements
• Cavity barriers
• Fire suppresion
• B4 External Fire Spread

6
Better Regulation

• The Principles of Better Regulation
• Proportionality
• Accountability
• Consistency
• Transparency
• Targeting

7
Better Regulation

• Hampton Reducing administrative burdens March
  2005
• Regulators should recognise that a key element of
  their activity will be to allow, or even
  encourage, economic progress and only to
  intervene when there is a clear case for
  protection.
• Regulators, and the regulatory system as a whole,
  should use comprehensive risk assessment to
  concentrate resources in the areas that need them
  most.
• Better Regulation Task Force Report - Less is
  More March 2005
• Reduce the regulatory burden on business by
  first measuring administrative burdens and then
  setting a target to reduce them.
• a One in, One out approach to new regulation,
  which forces departments to prioritise between
  new regulations and to simplify and remove
  existing regulations.

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Impact Assessments

• Impact Assessments
• An impact assessment (RIA) is a policy tool that
  assesses the impact, in terms of costs, benefits
  and risks of any proposed regulation that could
  affect businesses, charities or the voluntary
  sector.
• It is Government policy that all government
  departments and agencies where they exercise
  statutory powers and make rules with general
  effect on others must produce an RIA
• The Treasury publish the Green Book which sets
  out the core principles on which all public
  sector economic assessment is based

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Impact Assessments

• The Value of a Prevented Fatality or Prevented
  Injury
• Green Book - Provides a methodology using
  willingness to pay approach to derive a
  monetised value.
• Provides an objective way of considering
  proportionality and targeting.
• Values vary with inflation etc. Currently approx
• Deaths 1.5m
• Injuries 50k
• Property protection outside scope of Building
  Act.

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Consultation

• Building Regulations Advisory Committee
• Part B Working Party
• Members from
• BRAC
• Practitioners Forum
• Business and Community Safety Forum
• Industry Experts
• Building Control
• Fire and Rescue Authorities
• Fire Safety Engineers
• Officials (Scotland, Wales, N Ireland)

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Impact Assessments

• Part G Thermostatic Mixing Valves.
• Initial Impact Assessment indicated the costs
  significantly outweighed the benefits - the costs
  were fairly easy to monetise, the benefits less
  straightforward.
• However, further work showed there was a case to
  regulate IF a TARGETED approach was taken
• If limited to baths (where over 90 of serious
  accidents occur).
• If limited to new homes only (where you can
  ensure all baths are protected and where the
  fitting of a TMV is cheapest).

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Consultation

• Public Consultation
• Includes
• Draft Impact Assessment
• Draft Approved Document
• Questionnaire
• Canvass Opinion
• Reality Check
• Better understand impacts
• Not a numbers game
• Responses are published in summarised form

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Approved Document Revision Process
Pre Consultation
Preliminary Research Evaluation 5 months
Prepare, Clear Publish Consultation 2 months
12 week consultation
Draft AD and RIA 6 months
Research into Selected Options
SCOPE Assuming Research has already taken place
Gap Filling Research
Consultation Complete
Options Appraisal Selection
Proposal Impact Assessment
Backward Look
Forward Look
Draft Consultation
Approval Process
Condoc Printed
Consultation Launch and events
Process for Consultation Approval
Review IA from previous AD
Post Consultation
1 month Roll out
Publish Summary 3 months
Re-analyse and Revise 3 months
Implement new Legislature 7 months
Produce Consultation Summary Response
Impact Assessment Evaluation
Additional Research (if needed)
Approved Document Revised
Draft Statutory Instrument
Approval
Proof Publish AD
Roll out Educate
AD Comes into Force
Options Analysis
Re-analyse
Process for Approval of New Parts and associated
Legislation
BRAC Approval
Sign-off by Chief Economist
Sign off by Minister
Cabinet Clearance
Building regulations made
Building regulations laid
Regulations come into force
Cabinet Write Round
BERR review of IA
Parliamentary Approval
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Progress
Environmental Impact Changes to Building Act
extend potential of Part B to cover protection or
enhancement of the environment sustainable
development. Any changes to extend scope of Part
B would need to be justified and we need a way of
analysing the pros and cons. A scoping study is
underway at BRE.

• Environmental footprint includes
• Smoke contamination
• Firefighting run-off
• Demolition and re-construction.
• Fire protection systems will also have a negative
  environmental impact which would need to be
  assessed.

15
Progress

• Fire Spread in Car Parks
• Three year project looking at
• fire loading
• mechanisms of fire spread
• Heat release rates
• Summary published in FSE Magazine June 2009.
• Full report to be published shortly.

16
Progress

• Innovative Construction Techniques
• Engineered joists
• Structural insulated Panels

17
Building RegulationsProcess and progress

• Brian Martin
• Sustainable Buildings and Climate Change
  Directorate
• Communities and Local Government