Collaboration and competence. Greater clarity across the sector.
Block Compliance Ltd recently attended the third CBSE Building Safety Act event at 8 First Street, Manchester and one message was clear.
The 265 page Building Safety Act 2022 is no longer theoretical. It is operational.
Clarity is improving across the industry. What emerged from this event was not just legal interpretation, but practical direction.
Two words defined the day. Collaboration and competence.
A panel of real world expertise
The session brought together recognised voices across the sector.
John Joyce is a freelance consultant for Project 4, a CBSE Building Safety Act specialist and visiting tutor at the University of Manchester School of Architecture.
Kevin Morrissey is a multiple project manager with expertise in gypsum wall construction.
Rachel Davidson is Director of Specialist Knowledge at BESA, leading on competence, compliance and client guidance around the Act.
Andy Rowe, formerly from a senior fire service background, now works within the Building Safety Regulator.
Their collective message was consistent. The Act demands cultural change, not just documentation.
Gateway accountability is now real
Gateway 1, 2 and 3 were central to the discussion.
Gateway 2 approvals for new builds are currently running at 12 to 18 weeks. Existing projects face significant backlog pressures.
If something goes wrong, responsibility travels through the entire dutyholder chain.
Consider fire dampers. If a damper is not installed correctly, who is liable. The designer. The installer. The apprentice. The project manager. The principal designer. The principal contractor. The client.
Under the Building Safety Act, all may be culpable depending on their role and oversight responsibilities.
The Act captures liability across the chain. Safeguards should exist to halt construction of a faulty building. An apprentice may make an installation error, but systemic failure reflects a breakdown in leadership, supervision and competence verification.
The role of the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor is now unmistakably accountable. So too is the client.
Competence framework remains the biggest challenge
Rachel Davidson referenced the latest survey findings from BESA, available via the BESA Building Safety Act Hub.
Key findings include:
- The Building Safety Act can overwhelm SMEs
- Awareness is highest in London and the Midlands
- The residential sector shows the strongest engagement
- Dutyholder responsibilities remain widely misunderstood
- The Act applies to all buildings, not just high rise.
BESA represents over 700 contractors under one specialist umbrella. Membership is free, but technical competence must be evidenced.
The industry is calling for mandatory training, wider CPD, clearer client responsibilities, simpler guidance and proportionate but stronger enforcement.
Self enforcement has increased, but the gap between leadership intention and operational delivery remains.
SMEs in particular want clarity on one question. What does good look like.
Product assurance and life safety systems
A powerful question raised during the session was whether organisations are truly assuring their products or simply selecting the lowest cost compliant option.
Examples discussed included fire dampers installed without reference to wall type or DW145 requirements, incompatible systems across gypsum wall constructions and insufficient checks around HRV heat recovery ventilation systems.
Who is policing HRVs? Who is verifying performance beyond installation?
Life safety systems must be scrutinised beyond surface compliance. The Act requires dutyholders to look deeper.
Cost driven specification decisions can create latent safety risk.
Principal accountable person duties and reporting
Post 2022, the Principal Accountable Person has a legal duty to notify the Building Safety Regulator of safety issues.
If measures such as waking watches are required, if access for fire services is compromised or if compliance failures arise, they must be reported.
The Building Safety Regulator is expanding its multi disciplinary oversight. Emergency reporting mechanisms exist through HSE channels.
Raising concerns under the Act is not whistleblowing. It is fulfilling your duty of care.
Enforcement and what comes next
Andy Rowe confirmed that fire services do not regulate or enforce under the Act. Enforcement responsibility sits with the Building Safety Regulator.
Gateway 2 timelines are stretching and existing buildings face backlog pressure. The industry is adapting, but it is still adapting.
The findings of the Grenfell Inquiry, expected in 2026 or 2027, are likely to reinforce the Act’s broad capture of liability across design, installation and management functions.
The final question to the panel was what they would like to see change in the construction sector in response to the Building Safety Act.
The answers were stronger leadership, cultural change, genuine competence validation, clearer lines of accountability and meaningful collaboration across disciplines.
The Act is not just a regulatory framework. It is a systemic reset.
Final thoughts
The Building Safety Act remains complex, but its direction is clear.
- Competence must be evidenced.
- Collaboration must be genuine.
- Accountability must be understood.
For contractors, designers, building owners and clients alike, the message from 8 First Street was simple.
If you are not actively managing compliance, you are exposed.
Block Compliance Ltd continues to support dutyholders, managing agents and building owners in navigating their obligations under the Building Safety Act.
If you would like to discuss compliance strategy, fire risk assessments or dutyholder responsibilities, speak to the Block Compliance team today.
