Local authority building control ‘will cease’ in April amid lack of registered surveyors, UK government warned

That’s the warning from Local Authority Building Control (LABC), which represents all local authority building control teams in England and Wales, to the Health and Safety Executive and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

Under far-reaching changes to the UK’s building safety regime in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster, the newly created Building Safety Regulator (BSR) requires building control professionals to register by 6 April 2024 to perform building control work in England and Wales.

But a letter from LABC chief executive Lorna Stimpson, seen by constructionbriefing.com, has warned that a “significant number” of building control professionals will not achieve successful certification and therefore registration before the deadline. That was despite the “best efforts” of LABC, the Building Safety Competence Foundation (BSCF) and two other independent assessment bodies to expedite applications. Meanwhile, other building control surveyors have not yet made an application.

In the letter, addressed to HSE director of building safety Philip White, DLUHC deputy director Camilla Sheldon, and the Welsh government, Stimpson said, “LABC is undertaking an urgent review of the position of all local authorities in England and Wales, to determine their position with regards to the number of surveyors likely to be certified and registered prior to the deadline – the picture does not currently look encouraging.”

Stimpson warned that legal advice offered to LABC indicated that without appropriate registered professionals “local authorities will cease to be able to undertake a building control function post 6th April”.

She said this would lead to ongoing construction projects not being inspected, while stop and compliance notices would also not be served, among several other knock-on effects.

Stimpson also raised a number of other concerns, including the list of sanctions and penalties proposed by the Building Safety Regulator for Registered Building Inspectors, which she argued could drive “an even greater loss of surveyors from the profession”.

As a result, the LABC said it would “strongly encourage” BSR, DLUHC and the Welsh government” to delay implementation of the registration of building control professionals by at least six months.

Stimpson has previously warned about an “exodus” of experienced building control surveyors from the profession ahead of the introduction of the BSR, with significant numbers opting for a career change or retirement instead of preparing to meet with the regulator’s new requirements.

‘Extreme stress’

Stimpson painted a picture of a “critical level of stress” in the building control profession, which she claimed the 6 April registration deadline has caused.

“We are hearing worrying reports of individuals in crisis, suffering extreme stress, anxiety and depression.

“The short timeframe allowed between final clarity from the BSR on the independent assessment bodies and their assessment criteria has meant the profession has had insufficient time to prepare for such a significant impact.

“Legal advice is clear, those who have not achieved registration by the legislative deadline are not able to meet the contractual obligations of their role and as such could have their employment terminated by their employer – this is the same for both the public and private sector and yet another pressure added to already struggling surveyors,” she said.

DLUHC response

When contacted by constructionbriefing.com about the letter, LABC said it had nothing further to add.

But DLUHC appeared determined to press ahead with the deadline. A spokesperson for the department said, “It is crucial that the construction sector continues to undertake the validation and registration processes in order to meet the competence requirements set by the Building Safety Regulator.

“We understand that transitioning into a new oversight regime for building control inspectors requires a managed transition, and the Regulator is closely engaging the sector to agree a way forward.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in which the BSR sits, has also been contacted for comment.