Hackitt Review: early adopter
What is it?
A review was commissioned following the Grenfell Tower Tragedy and an independent review, led by Dame Judith Hackitt, which looked at current Building Regulations and fire safety, with a particular focus on high-rise residential buildings.
The Council is an “early adopter” of the Hackitt Review’s recommendations - and one of the first Council’s to be named.
The early adopters scheme is intended to ensure that these recommendations in the government-commissioned review of fire and building safety begins as soon as possible.
The early adopters group launched a building safety charter early in 2019, which outlined a commitment “to protecting life by putting safety first, ahead of all other building priorities”.
The final report made numerous recommendations in order to reach this goal.
Recommendations
These included:
- Setting up new regulations for multi-occupancy higher risk residential buildings (HRRBs) that are ten storeys or more in height, and would involve a new Joint Competent Authority (JCA) comprising of:
- local authority building control (which would be renamed "local authority building standards" (LABS));
- fire and rescue authorities; and
- the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
The JCA would oversee management of safety risks in HRRBs.
- A stricter system for overseeing the construction of an HRRB, clarifying the role of LABS and any independent approved inspector.
- An increased focus on safety during a building's occupation, including a means for tenants to raise concerns.
Following the review, the Early Adopters Scheme was developed by Government to support the cultural changes needed to achieve a safer building system now, and in the future.