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Reference Number	CI 71/9/18
Title	Achieving building standards - a scoping study
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Energy Efficiency (Residential and commercial) 10%; Not Energy Related 90%;
Research Types	Applied Research and Development 100%
Science and Technology Fields	ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation) 100%
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given SAIC Consulting
Award Type	Standard
Funding Source	DCLG
Start Date	04 September 2006
End Date	15 December 2006
Duration	3 months
Total Grant Value	£69,350
Industrial Sectors	Manufacturing
Region	London
Programme	DCLG Building regulations research and technical support
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , SAIC Consulting (100.000%)
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Objectives	(BD2606) The overall aims of this project are to provide DCLG with: * An independent view of how successfully suitable/adequate building standards are being achieved; the underlying reasons for the level of compliance; and the issues arising. The work should consider matters from 2001, when the Building Regulations 2000 came into force. * Recommendations for further work to address the issues identified. Summary of results: The purpose of building standards is the protection of the public intcal Authority Building Control as a commercial and last resort service provider and enforcer. Appropriate roles and responsibilities will need to be established in order to develop an adequately resourced inspection and enforcement function. Achieving Building Standards: Final Report 7 Consistency Nearly two-thirds of stakeholders interviewed pointed to a lack of an overall, stable strategy and direction for Building Regulations against which they could plan their own activities over a reaso na ble time period of, say, five years. There is a perception across the industry that there is no joined up working across those Government Departments having an impact on building and construction. There is now duplication and conflicting requirements that generate confusion and additional costs and bureaucracy. There is little or no visible integration at the strategic, tactical and local operational levels. At the operational level, there is a perception that there is no joining up of theer est in the occupancy, use and performance of buildings. The Building Regulations therefore underpin the health and safety of us all. As a nation, we spend about 90% of our time in buildings which, in turn, produce over a third of the UK s harmful carbon dioxide emissions. It is therefore vital that in looking to the future we make every effort possible to ensure that standards are not only achieved but also continue to improve. For the Building Regulations to be satisfied and adequate c onstruction cycle from design, through build and operate. There is a gap emerging between development control (planning) and building control in the newer areas of interest, such as the environment, that is adding to complexity and increased frustrations. There is also inadequate consideration of the operate and maintain phase, once a building has been completed. This demonstrates a need for increased integration between all the various control regimes concerned with the constructionpro cess. This could include: Ensuring that there is consistency between the different parts of the Building Regulations to remove possible confusions, duplications, inconsistencies and ambiguities and also ensuring that Building Regulations are co-ordinated with other appropriate legislation Merging construction Health and Safety legislation with the Building Regulations (this would require resolving of the differences in the approach between the two sets of legislation, e.g. in relation to respo nsibilities)Aligning the planning, building control and health and safety regimes to provide clear guidance to contractors at each stage of the process, potentially using a single application process, support system and monitoring through the construction cycle Combining the use of building control (LABC) and health and safety inspectors (HSE) to bring buildings into a single, rather than twin, inspection and enforcement regime. This concept could be developed further to include the fir eauth orities and environmental health to ensure a fully integrated inspection regime across the building s life-cycle. Transparency The system has evolved in a piecemeal manner resulting in inadequate stakeholder management. Poor communications are leading to a negative stakeholder perception of Communities and Local Government and Building Regulations and there is a perceived lack of joined up processes between policy makers and implementers. This would be improved by formalising and improving sta keholder management and communications to ensure appropriate representation and deliver two way communication. Achieving Building Standards: Final Report 8 While the time for consultation on developing policy was thought adequate, the majority of stakeholders believed that there was inadequate time and resource applied to the practicalities of implementation and enforcement and the differential impact on different stakeholder groups. Any future changes should address the need for implement atio n plans which are realistic and allow sufficient time and resource to ensure smooth transition, adequate training, appropriate support and effective implementation. Targeting While positive comments were made by larger enterprises about the flexibility for innovative design that is allowed by Building Regulations, there was much criticism made of the lack of appropriate guidance tailored to the needs of different customer groups; in particular for the smaller contractor where the risk of no n-c ompliance is largest. It will be important to ensure an appropriate balance between the use of prescriptive and performance based criteria based on project type, recognising that the need for freedom to innovate within larger/complex projects must be balanced against the needs of the smaller building contractor and DIY householder seeking simple, prescriptive criteria against which they can readily comply. The key to focusing the regulations will be to gain an understanding of stakeholder s nee issues and ideas identified in this analysis are a consensus view built up through the desk research, workshops, interviews, interaction, the online forum and the questionnaire. It should be noted that the review took place soon after the recent updates to Part L of the regulations (Conservation of fuel and power) that attracted much adverse criticism from the industry. Any particularly strong stakeholder vested interests were recognised and filtered out in the analysis. There was a consistent ds and driversand use them in an integrated system of compliance and enforcement that targets the right groups to achieve the right behaviour. This should be achieved through placing responsibility in the right place and potentially supporting those responsible with increasing use of Appointed Persons (co-ordinators/competent persons) to facilitate compliance. Compliance should be designed in by placing effort to influence activity higher up/earlier in the construction cycle by targeting own ers (clients) and designers. Best practice dictates that the regulations should be continually reviewed to ensure that they are still necessary and effective. This should be addressed by continuing steps to simplify the regulations to ensure that the administrative burden is reduced, through investigating new potential initiatives and implementing existing plans such as the e-enablement of the Building Control Service. Enforceable A general lack of resources presents significant challenges t o the achievement of building standards. There are significant gaps in budget and people resource. There is insufficient Communities and Local Government capacity and capability to deliver meaningful change exacerbated by resource pressures, skills drain and lack of succession plan. Building Control Bodies are also constrained by resources and are thus prioritising and addressing the areas that they perceive to be important e.g. Health & Safety. Achieving Building Standards: Final Repor s tandards to be achieved there needs to be an effective combination of compliance and enforcement. Since their introduction the standards have been adapted to keep pace with advances in design, technology, materials and construction and other issues such as energy conservation. However, there are now growing concerns about the level of compliance with building standards as well as criticism about the pace of change and their increasing complexity. This report was commissioned by theDepartment t 9 The current issues surrounding compliance and enforcement need to be addressed to ensure that the regulations are practical to enforce. This could be achieved by the formalisation and development of activities currently undertaken using individual judgement within building control. This could include adopting inspection based on risk assessment to concentrate resources on the areas that need them most, educational programmes tailored to major stakeholders and developing risk based sanctions that use the judicial system, monetary penalties and stop notices to ensure effective enforcement. Impact At present, building standards are largely serving their purpose of protecting the public interest. However, the future of building standards lacks clear vision and consequently there is no effective long-term strategy or plan to deliver. As a result the Building Regulation control system is evolving in an inefficient and ineffective manner with particular issues including; poorstakeholde r management &communication, significant gaps in resourcing (both budget & people), lack of integration at strategic, tactical & operational levels, lack of joined up processes and little effective performance management. Compliance is frustrated by excessive complexity and a lack of clarity which is eroding customer buy-in. Customer-centric approaches are not used as much as they should be to encourage compliance. Enforcement bodies lack the appropriate tools and resou rces to ensure that standards are achieved. Effective enforcement is limited and the regulations are perceived to have no teeth. Building standards are not fully achieving their desired outcomes. For the original desired outcomes on Health & Safety, Building Regulations are largely working despite the system. For the newer desired outcomes such as the conservation of fuel & power, Building Regulations aren t working because of the system. Building Regulations are now at a tipp ing point. The way they are developing does not fully comply with the government s regulatory best practice and, if left unchecked, will place an unnecessary administrative burden on businesses and citizens. The context in which they operate has significantly changed since their last major revision and the control system is no longer fit for purpose. The building regulation and control regime needs to be adjusted in order to remain relevant and provide an effective contribution to addressing th e issues and challenges raised by climate change. Only a step change will ensure this happens. Recommendations The key recommendations of the review are to: Establish a clear vision for building standards that also describes the positioning with other regulatory regimes. Develop and communicate a strategy and a stable plan to deliver it Achieving Building Standards: Final Report 10 Improve stakeholder management and communications by reviewing the range of stakeholders and their needs, iden ti level of agreement across all stakeholder groups leading us to believe that the areas identified for improvement remain valid. The main findings, as they relate to the evaluation criteria, are outlined below: Proportionality The most positive reactions to Building Regulations were around the original 1984 Act and the early Approved Documents dealing with Health and Safety, but that this has now been eroded and obscured. There is general recognition of the importance of newer areasdealing with fying and communicating the key messages from the strategic plan and setting up appropriate delivery channels Work with other government stakeholders and industry to develop the business case for integration across central and local government and over the whole life of buildings Review and revise simplification plans with stakeholders in line with recommendations of the Better Regulation Commission report on Risk, Responsibility and Regulation to review the stock of regulation affecting the bu ilding process to make sure it allocates risk appropriately Review theorganisational design for the Sustainable Buildings Division in Communities and Local Government and at local building control level leading to changes in resources, roles and responsibilities, and the relationships with external organisations that will be required to meet the future needs of building regulation and control Review and revise processes and procedures, for policy development and implementation that i dentifies the full cost and resource implications of the proposed regulation, the impact on each industry groups and, in particular, on small firms. The process should also recognise the time required for implementation Rationalise then design and implement new customer-centric guidance and processes. In particular this should provide the smaller contractor and DIY householder with simple prescriptive guidance for simple projects with no external references e.g. a small buildings guide. Atthe same time there should be a balance to encourage innovative design solutions Develop and implement an effective compliance & enforcement regime based on risk based management that focuses on a small number of strategic cases supported by education programmes tailored to the different stakeholder groups. Develop approaches that apply risk-based sanctions such as legal proceedings, on the spot fines or stop notices, as a last resort Develop and implement an effective national perf for Communities and Local Government, responsible for the creation and maintenance of the Building Regulations and associated guidance, as part of a programme of work to consider the current situation of Building Regulations, how they are managed and maintained and to identify what might be done to improve this. As the first step in this process, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) was asked to review the current building regulation and control regime and provide: An indepe ormance management regime, building upon the system developed by the Building Control Performance Standards Advisory Group as a starting point, with data and processes to enable effective review and evidence-based decision-making. Next steps Immediate work: The first and most essential piece of work is to establish and agree a clear vision and delivery strategy In tandem with this work, it is critical to develop a strategy for integrating stakeholders more effectively into the transformatio n process and establi sh an appropriate stakeholder group Achieving Building Standards: Final Report 11 Work should also start as soon as possible on developing an essential change programme to show how the system will transform from the current position over time to deliver the vision. Within the next few months initiate projects to: Use the stakeholder group to develop the Communities and Local Government Simplification Plan to generate further administration burden savings Implement tra nsitional process improvem ents to provide consistency and control for policydevelopment and implementation develop a compliance and enforcement strategy initiate project based guidance using the Interactive House on the Planning Portal. In the next nine to eighteen months initiate the programme design and resources required for transformation as well as: Execute the stakeholder management and communications strategy Commence organisational design project Develop a risk based complian ce and enforcementsystem Develop a n effective national performance management system Rationalise and refocus guidance. From eighteen months onwards deliver the transformation programme, changing the organisation, and begin to implement initiatives within the programme including, for example: Begin integration initiatives and other projects such as e-enabled Building Control Implement compliance education and information and risk-based enforcement Pilot and then launch the performance management system Deliver new customer-centr ic guidance. Achieving Building Standards: Final Report 12 ndent view of how successfully suitable/adequate building standards are being achieved; the underlying reasons for the level of compliance; the barriers to compliance and the issues arising, and Recommendations for further work to address the issues identified. This report therefore, examines the achievement of building standards, identifies the major issues, provides recommendations for further work to address the issues and indicates energy performance and the environment, but criticism that the ways chosen to address these areas has led to increased bureaucracy and costs. There is little data and analysis of the impact on, in particular, the smaller enterprises in the construction market. Achieving Building Standards: Final Report 6 Building Regulations are not working as well as they should. Larger building projects are trying to work with them and have sufficient resources to absorb the inefficiencies of the system. Sma the way forward for the system in the future. Our approac h We began our study of this complex and wide ranging topic with a comprehensive review of approximately 100 documents, including studies and research projects from industry bodies, and a brief study of similar activity in other countries and approaches taken by other industries. 5 An analysis of stakeholders established the potential impact of Building Regulations on different groups and their influence on achieving building standards. This formed the basis for a stakeholder consultation invol ving approximately 200 individuals. Direct interviews were conducted with 31 organisations representing the key stakeholder groups, including; Local Authorities, Approved Inspectors, compliance agents, professional bodies, trade associations, industry bodies, contractors, manufacturers and suppliers. A set of evaluation criteria was established using principles introduced by the Better Regulation Task Force in 1997 andthe Hampton princ iples of inspection and enforcement. They formed thebasis for a research questionnai reused in the face-toface interviews and designed to explicitly uncover areas for major improvements. 68 responses were obtained. We used an online discussion forum to provide a useful supplement to the direct consultation. Approximately 100 individuals posted 175 comments providing a substantial body of genuinely useful feedback and ideas for improvement. It was accessed and read by thousands, averaging appro ximately 200 individuals per day. An analysis of the result s obtained from these sources built up a substantial evidence base and led to a critical evaluation which was conducted against the policy-making and delivery process for Building Regulations as well as the evaluation criteria. This established what works, what does not work, the level of compliance, the underlying reasons for compliance and any lessons to be learned. This included a diagnosis of the issues, consideration of the eviden ce and exploration of innovative new ideas. Key Findings The ller projects do not have the funding for the level of resource required to ensure compliance and the system is driving more of them away. However, the largest volume of building projects fall into this category, which also represents the highest risk to compliance. There is a perception that adequate consideration is not given to alternatives or complementary approaches to Building Regulation as a means of achieving policy objectives. This includes the use of advertising and education, market forces, financial incentives and self-regulation. These approaches may be more effective and/or cheaper than prescriptive regulation and could include: Considering methods for increasing the performance standards of the existing building stock and reviewing the impact of consequential improvements on smaller projects Considering alternatives to the traditional building control process, potentially allowing more self-certification of compliance by competent persons obviating the need for ins pe ction by a building control body (providing it is effectively managed and monitored) Adopting lighter-touch regulatory procedures for certain building types similar to some other European countries. It is well recognised that regulation can have a disproportionate effect on small businesses and so it s vitally important that adequate attention is paid during consultation to the economic impact and the practicalities of implementation and enforcement on different groups, particularly small b uil ders. It is also important to ensure that Approved Documents provide guidance that is proportionate to the needs of different industry groups and types of building project. Accountability Both the regulators (Communities and Local Government) and the enforcers (Building Control Bodies) of Building Regulations would benefit from having clear standards and criteria against which they can be judged. However, the current devolved building control system has impeded development of a comprehensive sy stem to date. There is no wan opportunity to develop a more effective national performance management system that is aligned to the achievement of strategic objectives, facilitates control and allows feedback between the different groups making, delivering or affected by Building Regulations. There is a perception, by some, that competition between Local Authority Building Control and Approved Inspectors has ledto a reduction in building standards. There is also tension between the roles of Lo
Abstract	Buildings Division (BD) of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the Building Regulations and associated guidance under the 1984 Building Act. Other built environment responsibilities of the Department include related EU Directives, other non statutory building standards (e.g. the Code for Sustainable Homes) and initiatives (e.g. related to existing buildings) and minor legislation (e.g. Party Wall and Architects Acts). BD's role under the 1984 Act is circumscribed: it principally concerns policy development and roll-out, and working with a statutory advisory committee the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC). Delivery at national and local level relies on a fully devolved building control system. The absence of a direct DCLG supervisory role is partially compensated for by Ministerial powers to determine appeals etc. (which has produced a body of case-law), and DCLGs ability to influence stakeholder behaviour in forums such as those dealing with performance standards. There is, however, no power or mechanism to clearly gauge levels of compliance to ascertain success/failure of regulations over time and in different sectors. BDs work on regulations and guidance is supported by a significant annual programme of research and technical support that provides a generally robust technical evidence base for policy. The stakeholder base for the Building Regulations is very broad, embracing people and organisations from a variety of sectors. It ranges from specialists (e.g. building control bodies, professional institutions) to all sectors of the public and business groups, each with varying degrees of awareness and knowledge of the Building Regulations and how they are affected by them. For the Building Regulations to be satisfied and adequate standards to be achieved in our built environment there needs to be a combination of compliance and enforcement. Bothof these are subject to other influences. Compliance is influenced by: Awareness: the right information, in the right format at the right time Willingness: the balance of professional capability and efforts and costs required. Incentives: combining awareness and willingness to demonstrate the incentives for achieving compliance with the standards. Enforcement bridges the gap to the suitable / adequate standards that are not achieved by voluntary compliance alone. This is influenced by: Awareness: professional capability through being told about the standards and the standards being readily understandable and applicable to a situation. Willingness: the effort required to ensure the standards are met against the perceived impact of the standards not being met. A risk assessment by an enforcer (or verifier) that will be partly related to the resources available for them to carry out their function. Resources: concerning the expectations andreality of the role of the enforcer (or verifier)in terms of how much dependence is placed upon them to ensure standards are achieved and whether that balance is realistic. There has been some criticism that the pace of review and change of the Building Regulations and Approved Documents has been too great and that together with increasing technical complexity is resulting in practitioners failing to understand the requirements, leading to non-compliance. Furthermore that the enforcement sidehas also been unable adequately to keep up with developments, thus further weakening compliance levels. DCLG is currently undertaking a wide ranging review of the principles of and requirements for building standards. This includes consideration of alternative ways of spreading the compliance burden, for example by the introduction of Appointed Persons (Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act). The results of this scoping study will form an important input to this review.
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Publications	Achieving Building Standards: Final Report
Added to Database	16/11/07