EWS | DIGEST Developers and manufacturers must pay for unsafe cladding IN BRIEF Boost building safety through procurement The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published new guidance on how collaborative procurement for design and construction can boost building safety. The guidance is designed to support the more stringent regulatory system being introduced through the Building Safety Bill. Housing Minister conrms cost of remediation will not fall on leaseholders The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has threatened to impose a 4bn levy on developers if they dont pay to x unsafe cladding in leaseholders homes. In a statement to the House of Commons last month, Michael Gove said leaseholders in ats between 11m and 18m high will no longer have to pay towards the costs of xing cladding. In a letter to the Construction Products Association, he also said manufacturers of cladding and insulation would be expected to contribute to the costs. The letter stated that the cost to remediate unsafe cladding on 11-18m and 18m-plus buildings would be 4bn and 5.1bn respectively. It went on to say: The total contribution from the cladding and insulation sector must represent a signicant portion of the total remediation costs, caused by the dangerous products sold by some of your members. New SCA guides focus on vents and fans The Smoke Control Association (SCA) has released two new reference guides, the first of which provides information on natural smoke and heat exhaust vents. The second aims to raise awareness of the fact that powered smoke extract fans selected, manufactured and installed in accordance with EN 12101-3:2015 must then be maintained correctly. The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee is scrutinising the impact of Goves announcement and how developers might pay. Clive Betts MP, chair of the committee, said: Goves announcements on 10 January were a welcome step towards nally addressing the question of meeting the costs of making residential blocks safe, rather than dumping the burden on at-owners. Gove also outlined a package of building safety measures, and conrmed the government is withdrawing guidance that the Secretary of State said had been wrongly interpreted by industry to require remediation of all cladding irrespective of building height. Building assessments will also be audited to make sure expensive remediation is only advised where necessary to remove a threat to life, said Gove. Dame Judith Hackitt, who chaired the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, said the governments package would be a great relief for many leaseholders. Building safety charter response disappointing Producer of high quality general and fire ventilation devices wide portfolio range short lead times more than years of experience in the market See our portfolio at www.smay.eu European certificates high quality products supplies solutions to 20 more than countries Ask for a quote for e-mail enquiry@smay.eu The number of organisations signing up to the industry-wide Building a Safer Future Charter has been branded disappointing by Dame Judith Hackitts Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG). Its third annual report, published last month, says that despite strong examples of positive action, industry still needs to do more work to regain the publics trust. The group, chaired by Dame Judith, was set up in 2018 to scrutinise the industrys progress following the publication of her landmark review of Building Regulations and re safety. It is disappointing that we still cannot report a critical mass or groundswell of action across industry to suggest there is signicant momentum on culture change, the report states. We still see an industry that, at best, is in compliance mode rather than a leadership mode. This is starting to happen in some places, but must be done more proactively, visibly, faster, and across the whole breadth of industry and throughout the supply chain. There was an over-reliance on the usual players to lead the way, according to the report; others were waiting to be told what to do and were hiding behind trade and professional organisations. It added that there were a considerable number of organisations that think meaningful change cannot be achieved ahead of legislation, or that it is not necessary for it to happen any sooner. The ISSG said there had been good progress on the BSIs programme to develop a suite of national competence standards, but it expressed concern about the industrys ability to bring this together and deliver coherent frameworks of competences that meet the needs of the sector. 8 February 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Feb22 pp08-09 News.indd 8 28/01/2022 16:02