The Building Safety Bill intends to ensure that the right people have the right information at the right time so that buildings are safe and building safety risks are managed throughout the building’s lifecycle. This information is to be held digitally and is what is known as the ‘Golden Thread‘.

Key features of the Bill include:

• The introduction of a new era of accountability, making it clear where responsibility for managing safety risk lies from the design and construction phase right through to occupation;
• Tougher sanctions for those that fail to meet their obligations; and
• The installation of a powerful new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) embedded within the Health and Safety Executive. The BSR will have three main functions:

1. 1. To oversee the safety and standard of all buildings
   2. To assure the safety of higher-risk buildings (HRB)
   3. To improve the competence of people responsible for managing and overseeing building work.

Design and Construction Phase For Higher-Risk Buildings (HRB), where the floor surface of the building’s top storey is 18 metres or more above ground level, the digital golden thread of building safety information will be collated and audited by the duty holder during three new Design and Construction Phase ‘Gateways‘ as follows;

• Gateway One: this will occur before Dutyholders are required to be in place and those applying for planning permission.
• Gateway Two: occurs before construction work beginning and is described as a hard stop – construction works cannot begin until the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is satisfied that the duty holder’s design is compliant with the new requirements.
• Gateway Three: is at completion requiring the duty holders:
  • To hand over information (the golden thread) to the Accountable Person (AP).
  • To submit to the BSR the information on the final as-built building.

Occupation Phase Post-construction, there is a new role, the ‘Accountable Person (AP)’. The AP is ‘the duty holder during occupation’. Breach of AP obligations involving consent, connivance or neglect will carry severe penalties, including fines and imprisonment. AP duties include:

• Registering the building with the BSR and apply for a Building Assurance Certificate (BAC).
• Appointing the Building Safety Manager (BSM) and informing the BSR of this appointment.
• An ongoing duty to assess the building’s safety risks and to take reasonable steps to prevent, and control the impact of a major incident.
• Produce and maintain a Residents’ Engagement Strategy, which will include information about where residents can access safety information and a complaints process.
• Maintaining a Safety Case Report to demonstrate compliance with this ongoing duty.
• Registration of a new HRB with the BSR will be pivotal as, once the new legislation is in force, the HRB cannot be occupied until that registration is completed. Existing HRBs will also need to be registered.