Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023

Lord Khan of Burnley Excerpts

Tuesday 21st February 2023 Grand Committee

I remain concerned that this issue still seems to be somewhat in the long grass. Many disabled groups remain very concerned about it. Although it is not the direct responsibility of this statutory instrument, heights and definitions of buildings all come back to Dame Judith Hackitt’s report. She is very clear that there needs to be a way for vulnerable people to be able to remove themselves safely from such buildings when there are problems.

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, Dame Judith Hackitt recommended a new, strengthened regulatory regime to improve accountability, risk management and assurance for higher-risk buildings. These regulations attempt to address this recommendation. They define higher-risk buildings and therefore set out which buildings will be subject to a new safety requirement. We welcome the introduction of the regulations, which, as the Minister has made clear, serve to complete the definition of high-risk buildings, which we need to meet the legal requirement of the new, more stringent building safety regulator’s regime, created by the Building Safety Act 2022. We broadly agree with the Government’s approach.

I echo the points of the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton: I appreciate that the Government talked not just about building safety but about building collapse. I take a moment to express our thoughts and deepest condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria, and our prayers for our brothers, sisters and children there, after the devastating and tragic earthquakes.

The instrument is largely straightforward, but I will take the opportunity to ask the Minister about Regulations 7 and 8, which exclude certain types of building from the definition of “higher risk”. For example, while hotels, hospitals and care homes are already regulated post-occupation by virtue of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, only care homes and hospitals are subject to the design and construction requirements set out in these regulations. Hotels are not. Instead, they are excluded. Given that concerns were raised in the consultation about the exclusion of some buildings from the completed definition, I would be grateful if the Minister could expand on why the Government believe that temporary leisure establishments, as they are termed, do not need to be covered by the more stringent design and construction regime. Why this exception? How are the Government addressing the issue of proportionality while looking at this?

We look forward to seeing how the monitoring takes place. How will the Government attempt to monitor the implementation of the new building safety arrangements? I draw attention to our concerns about whether they will be able to function effectively and whether the new building safety regulator, which the Act makes responsible for all aspects of the new framework, has what it needs to perform all the complex tasks assigned to it.

What other Hackitt review recommendations do the Government intend to address next? We just heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, about vulnerable groups and evacuation. As always, I look forward to the Minister’s response.