Building safety

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) has launched a new feature in its app designed to help workers and employers demonstrate competence under the Building Safety Act 2022. The My Skills section, now integrated within the My CSCS app, provides a centralised platform for workers to store and share verified…

An interim chief construction advisor is to be announced by the summer, ahead of a permanent appointment next year. It comes after the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended the role was resurrected following the tragedy. The government said it intended to engage an interim advisor “promptly” and had already started outreach…

The main contractor that was responsible for refurbishing Grenfell Tower has said it is “well advanced” in its building remediation programme, as it posted a return to sales growth. In its latest accounts, Rydon Group said: “Industry-wide cost liabilities following the introduction of the Building Safety Act will continue to…

The Building Safety Act’s 30-year retrospective extension of liability for building defects can be applied to all parties in the construction supply chain, the Supreme Court has ruled. A panel of judges this week rejected the argument of structural engineer URS that it should not be held responsible for costs…

Cladding remediation has yet to start on more than half of the buildings in England identified by the government as having potentially dangerous cladding – almost eight years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Of the 5,052 buildings recorded as having dangerous cladding by the end of March 2025, 1,652 –…

Robin Castle is a project management partner at Hartnell Taylor Cook The construction sector has been in the hot seat in recent years. Grenfell rightly spurred on greater regard for building safety, culminating in the Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022, while the 2023 updates to the 2010 building regulations also…

Some firms appear not to share the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) aim of driving up safety standards, according to the body’s inspector of buildings. In an online update, Philip White (pictured) outlined a list of reasons why 44 per cent of applications for residential buildings classed as higher-risk – at…

Envelope contractor Stanmore has launched an integrated design, procurement and construction service to tackle bottlenecks under the new building safety regime. It said the move would make it less likely that applications had to be resubmitted to the Building Safety Regulator in the wake of late-stage design changes, which have…

Professional indemnity insurance premiums have only just started falling after their post-Grenfell peak. But some fear new building safety laws could spark another insurer backlash In the years after June 2017’s Grenfell Tower fire, many contractors found professional indemnity (PI) insurance difficult to obtain, or watched their premiums soar in…

Procurement body Fusion21 has named 145 suppliers to its latest building safety and compliance framework, expected to be worth up to £800m over four years. The framework, which is open to public sector clients, comprises 12 lots covering fire safety, water hygiene, asbestos, electronic security, and warden call systems. It…