Anthony Taylor

Abstract 

Governance and leadership post Grenfell, post Covid-19

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The Draft ‘Building Safety Bill’ promises a wide range of new responsibilities for the ‘Accountable Person’, (AP) effectively the ‘Client’ in developers’ terms, and the ‘owner/freeholder’ in terms of occupied residential property. In particular they have specific legal obligations in regard to assuring themselves, that their contractors, (eg: PC/PC and Building Safety Manager), are fit and proper. The new Regulator (within the HSE) has oversight of the new Law(s) (anticipated as an Act Q1 2022).

As is common in H&S Law the majority of responsibilities sit with either the ‘Owner’ or the ‘Employer’ , As the Owner and Employer in the case of the Accountable Person  there are a raft of new obligations, including to their (residential) tenants. There is a specific requirement for the AP to have an appropriate contact under UK Jurisdiction – this is only for one reason!

There will be new ‘implied’ clauses in Leases setting out obligations of occupiers to landlords and vice versa. The Building Safety Manager will carry out the day to day responsibilities of the AP (owner), however the Legal accountability remains full square with the AP.

There are very specific expectations in regard to ‘The Golden Thread of information’ over the building’s lifecycle. All of the above is pressing for increased transparency and the expansion of the requirements for individuals to be demonstrably competent and organisations to be demonstrably capable and resourced to execute on their obligations.

Since Grenfell (July 2017) industry has been exhorted to deliver best practice without waiting for the Law(s) to be in place – in regard to Residential Accommodation this has been easier for social housing providers, whom have had both the means to ‘hold’ their portfolio long-term and the culture associated with provision of social housing. The Private sector tend to focus on shorter-term profit (for investors) and may have a more rapid asset turnover program, thus are tending to await regulation before investing in anticipated changes.

The on-going investigations into the Grenfell disaster are likely to result in prosecution of organisations, if not of individuals…..it has been apparent the ‘eye’ has been off the ball within the construction and property management industries, this will change. It will be relatively fast and will require leaders with strategic vision and the capability to drive cultural change towards much greater acceptance of responsibility of individuals at all levels of seniority from tradesmen, through supervisors and ‘checkers’ to those acting as the ‘Controlling Mind’.