Building Safety News
Stay updated with the latest building safety compliance insights and news. From expert analysis to essential tips, we’ve got you covered.
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Lowering the bar?
The UK government redefined a Higher-Risk Building (HRB) as 18 metres or 7 storeys and above, diverging from Dame Judith Hackitt’s original recommendation of 30 metres, primarily due to several political, practical, and safety-driven factors that emerged post-Grenfell.
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Seven Years On: The Building a Safer Future (Hackitt) Report’s Enduring Impact on UK Building Safety
On May 17, 2018, Dame Judith Hackitt published the final version of her “Building a Safer Future” report, in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Seven years later, we assess the changes made in building safety and the challenges that persist for industry and residents.
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Golden Thread: Fact, Fiction or Fantasy? – Lunch & Learn Webinar Summary
This month’s Lunch & Learn with Su Butcher – industry veteran, communicator, and all-around straight-talker – dug deep into a topic gaining increasing urgency across the built environment: the Golden Thread of building information.
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Managing Building Safety Information at Scale – Lunch & Learn Webinar Summary
Matt Hodges-Long, Founder of TrackMyRisks / Building Safety Register and Steve Bunce Building Safety Case Manager, Lewisham Council discussed challenges in ‘managing building safety information at scale’
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Regulation, regulation, regulations
The Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report landed last week and we are all busy picking through the 58 recommendations… What will they mean? Will the Government accept them? How long will they take?
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Grenfell Tower Special – Sky News
Last night our CEO Matt Hodges-Long joined Sarah-Jane Mee on Sky News for their 1 hour Grenfell special. Matt calls for clearer Government leadership and stronger regulatory enforcement.
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Dagenham Fire – what happens next?
It’s now two days since the devastating Dagenham fire at the Spectrum Building. How might the newly empowered Building Safety Regulator exercise its powers of enforcement and prosecution against the legal duty holder, the Principal Accountable Person?
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Dagenham fire sparks ‘Grenfell 2’ fears acting as a stark reminder of the ongoing building safety crisis
Our CEO Matt Hodges-Long was asked by LBC to write a short opinion piece tracking the 7 years from Grenfell Tower to the Spectrum Building and to give some thoughts on the role of Government in the Building Safety Crisis.
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‘Life-critical’ cladding problems affect 2,000 social housing blocks in England
Our CEO Matt Hodges-Long explains that fire safety issues in mid-rise blocks were overlooked due to the post-Grenfell focus on cladding problems inhigh-rise buildings.
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Cladding crisis latest: Nearly 10,000 people evicted due to safety concerns since Grenfell
When Sky News approached us for comment on the prohibition (forced evacuation) of the Skyline Chambers building in Manchester it was a good opportunity to share our ongoing research into prohibitions…
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Evacuate, decant or prohibit?
Over 9,000 residents have been forced from their homes due to fire and structural safety concerns since the Grenfell Tower tragedy!
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How do we know our children are safe at school?
All higher-risk buildings must have a Building Safety Case. Why shouldn’t schools have safety cases to ensure our children are safe at school?
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Takeaways from the Inaugural BSR Conference
We ask the Building Safety Regulator some difficult questions about the new legislation and their reporting regime
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Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 – Readiness Audit
Audit of readiness of the 43 English Fire & Rescue Services to receive electronic information from Responsible Persons of High Rise Blocks
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New Providence Wharf Fire Investigation
The London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) long-awaited enforcement report into the New Providence Wharf fire is ‘underwhelming’
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Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 – Achieving and maintaining compliance
A simplified guide to preparing for and maintaining ongoing compliance with the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
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Secure Information Box – have you got yours?
Secure Information Box forms part of the new Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which are enforceable from 23rd January 2023
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How do you solve a problem like Building Safety?
50 months post-Grenfell we are living on borrowed time with Building Safety. Immediate solutions to stabilise the situation are long overdue.
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Residential property developer tax
The UK Government is now consulting on a proposal to introduce a new residential property developer tax aimed at raising £2bn over 10 years – have your say here
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More than a quarter of EWS1 certificates ‘invalid’
Confusion over guidance and shortage of qualified surveyors leading to EWS1 certificate chaos according to our latest report
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Fire Risk Assessments in London still inadequate
Despite Grenfell, London councils are still ignoring Fire Risk Assessments, the only legally required assessment of Fire Safety in tower blocks!
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Building Safety Crisis – Data is Key
Many discussions about the Building Safety Crisis often overlook the scale of the problem. The absence of relevant data is the biggest issue.
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Building Safety Logbook – A Manifesto
By creating a digital building safety logbook for every building we will ensure building safety and restore confidence for residents. DOWNLOAD our Manifesto here…
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Professional Indemnity Insurance for Surveyors after Grenfell – Insurance Times
The EWS1 form was created to address fire safety issues post-Grenfell, however a lack of professional indemnity insurance for the surveyors that sign off this form has thrown a spanner in the works.
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Golden Thread – Grenfell’s missing information
All high risk buildings need a ‘Golden Thread’ of digital information, which forms a key part of the Draft Building Safety Bill
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Building Safety through better Risk Management
Risk Assessment and Risk Management form the main components of the Building Safety Case that will be required for all higher risk buildings
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Fire Risk Assessment National Register
Today’s breaking news of the full evacuation at Notting Hill Genesis Paragon Estate in Brentford highlights the role of the Fire Risk Assessment in Building Safety.
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What next for EWS1 Form?
What RICS, creators of the EWS1 process, and other stakeholders, such as MHCLG, should be doing right now to secure the EWS1 process and save innocent residents from further harm.
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EWS1 Fraud
On March 12th 2020, we first approached RICS and MHCLG with our concerns over the EWS1 process being a ‘magnet for fraud.’
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Turning the Tanker – Building Safety Bill Survey report
This survey seeks to understand the impacts and practical realities of the Building Safety Bill’s changes on large property owners
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Insurance industry left to shoulder risk in Grenfell fire aftermath – Insurance Times
The Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 has left the insurance industry to shoulder the increased risk for the failure of building safety and standards.
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Building Safety Bill Survey
Today we launch this survey to gauge senior executive views on the Building Safety Case and the Building Safety Regulator. We plan to repeat this process quarterly to track changes in sentiment and preparedness.
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TrackMyRisks CEO urges insurers to commit to Building Safety – Insurance Times
With the draft Building Safety Bill 2020 underway, TrackMyRisks’ CEO, Matt Hodges-Long tells Insurance Times he is seeking to evolve the Building Safety Register into its own organisation.
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Leaseholders hit with extortionate insurance premiums – Insurance Times
With the release of the Draft Building Safety Bill 2020 at the start of this week, the government have pushed the full cost of building safety works on to leaseholders.
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Building Safety Act 2020 – Insurance Times
Following our Buildings Insurance Crisis event with Insurtech UK last week, Insurance Times published this detailed article about the draft Building Safety Act 2020.
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Mountain to climb to Building Safety?
How close are English housing associations and local authority landlords to proposed new Building Safety regulations? Download our Building Safety Report…
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Building Safety Regulator – doomed for failure?
Despite repeated promises that “we will learn from the Grenfell tragedy” and an intent to create the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), I remain cynical that this will positively impact building safety any time soon.
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Grenfell Inquiry – Open Offer to Government
The Grenfell Inquiry clearly shows us that every High Rise Residential Building (HRRB) needs a Digital System of Record (DSoR)
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Second anniversary of Grenfell Tower tragedy…
On the second anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we still await decisive action to prevent a recurrence. Every high-risk building needs a Digital System of Record (DSoR).
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Do you have control of your risk & compliance documents?
Risk & compliance documents could save your business in the event of prosecution, regulatory enforcement, employment tribunal or a complex insurance claim. Do you have them under control?
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Keep your critical documents in check!
Managing risk documentation effectively can be a huge distraction from the day job for most businesses so that is why TrackMyRisks securely stores and manages all of your vital risk documents for you.
