CIBSE’s Technical Team recently held the first meeting of its refreshed Building Safety Working Group, reaffirming the Institution’s proactive leadership on building safety regulation and professional competence at a crucial time for the sector.
The refreshed group brings together cross-disciplinary expertise from across building services and building safety engineering, ensuring that CIBSE’s policy positions and technical input reflect the full breadth of professional practice. The group will play a central role in advising CIBSE on regulatory reform, consultation responses and the development of training, guidance and professional competence.
Chaired by former CIBSE President George Adams, the meeting welcomed Graham Watts, Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), as a guest speaker. Graham discussed the Government’s recently published prospectus on the proposed Single Construction Regulator (SCR), highlighting its significance for the construction and built environment sectors. He was welcomed by CIBSE CEO Ruth Carter, who also provided an update on CIBSE’s brand refresh and plans for a new Skills Hub at its London headquarters.
As CIBSE has previously reported, the SCR prospectus marks a major moment for the industry, with implications not only for England but across the UK. Graham Watts outlined some of the key decisions the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will need to take in the coming months, including whether the new regulator will operate as a single entity or as a 'system', providing coordinated oversight across buildings, construction products and professions.
In parallel with the working group’s first meeting, CIBSE’s Head of Government Affairs, Sam Baptist, attended an MHCLG roundtable discussion on the SCR this week. This provided a timely opportunity to hear directly from the policy officials leading the work, while also enabling CIBSE to put forward its views during the consultation phase and ensure that the perspective of building services engineers is reflected as proposals develop.
The Building Safety Working Group will now support CIBSE’s response to the SCR consultation, help shape engagement with government and regulators, and advise on how CIBSE can continue to lead on competence, professionalism and best-practice across building safety and more broadly. Details of the consultation, including key deadlines and how to respond, are available on CIBSE’s consultation webpage.
If you would like to contribute to this work or get involved in CIBSE’s Building Safety Working Group, please contact CIBSE's Technical Team at [email protected]