Building Safety Act 2025 – What is the current legislation and how does CBG comply?

Summary

The Building Safety Act (BSA) represents a transformative shift in the regulatory landscape for building safety in the UK, establishing a more robust framework for managing risk. In particular, the Act was developed in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017, which exposed significant weaknesses in building safety regulations.

From March 2025, there will be more updates to the Building Safety Act as the year progresses, improving fire safety with stricter duties on keeping information records and analysing performance requirements for High-Risk Buildings with the Building Safety Levy. Principal designers will now be required to sign a declaration and complete a competency statement to demonstrate that they have complied with their duties.

The requirements set out in the Building Safety Act 2022 affect the whole built environment industry, including those who participate in the design and construction process. At CBG, safety has always been at the forefront, and we have a proven track record of compliant building design. We are well versed in the Building Safety Act legislation to ensure we are compliant at all stages of our work. We are equipped to support clients in meeting their obligations while ensuring the safety and well-being of building occupants. The following analysis of the Building Safety Act demonstrates our understanding of the key regulatory requirements.

Key Objectives

The main aims of the Building Safety Act are to:

• Improve the safety standards of all buildings.

• Assure the safety of higher-risk buildings (HRBs) during construction and occupation.

• Bolster the competence and training of the people responsible for overseeing, managing, and delivering works to higher-risk buildings.

• Establish clearer standards and guidance.

• Put residents at the forefront of building safety.

Scope

Included in the legislation are Higher-risk buildings (HRBs) that are over 18 metres or 7 storeys high. The design, refurbishment, and construction requirements also apply to care homes and hospitals meeting the same height threshold. At CBG, much of our work is on buildings that fall into this category. Therefore, CBG Consultants recognise the importance of the regulatory framework introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 to deliver safe, compliant, and high-quality services within the UK’s built environment.

Gateways

The BSA introduces a “gateway” system, under which the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), will assess whether fire and structural building risks, processes and controls, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and understood during different stages of building work. The following criteria must be fulfilled before the BSR will issue approval to pass through each gateway.

Gateway 1 – Design Stage

The BSR reviews planning applications before planning permission is granted to check that building designs address fire safety.

Gateway 2 – Pre Construction

Building work cannot begin until the BSR accepts the building control approval application. The BSR assesses whether the proposed design meets the requirements of the building regulations.

Gateway 3

The building cannot be occupied until the BSR assesses the totality of the build to ensure it complies with regulations before the occupants move in. A completion certificate will be issued upon approval.

Duty holders

The BSA also assigns new roles and responsibilities for those that commission, design, construct, or refurbish buildings to ensure clear accountability. Duty holders must ensure the building is safe for occupants and all duty holders must be skilled, trained, and competent in their role, demonstrating the skills, behaviours and experience required.

CBG often lead projects undertaking the Principal Designer Role. Our team includes highly skilled Engineers, and Designers trained in building safety regulations to demonstrate our knowledge of our role as duty holder. We are committed to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to stay updated on regulatory changes and to continually showcase the appropriate skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviour on projects. At an organisational capacity, CBG have the accreditation from professional bodies to undertake the role of Building Services and Specialist Lighting Designers.

Golden Thread of Information

The ‘Golden Thread’ describes the information and documents that must be gathered and stored to safely occupy, manage and operate a Higher-Risk Building (HRB) throughout its lifecycle. To satisfy the Golden Thread of Information obligations under the Building Safety Act, owners/managers will be required to collate, monitor, and manage data relating to the buildings to monitor how safety risks are being managed.

The Requirements to fulfil to the Golden thread of Information are as follows:

• It must be in electronic format
• It can be transferred electronically without data being lost or corrupted
• It must be accurate and constantly updated
• It must be intelligible and understandable
• It must be accessible to other dutyholders upon request
• It must be secure from unauthorised access
• It must only be changed in accordance with procedures which record the person who made the change and the date
• It must be consistent in language, terminology and definitions.

At CBG, we add to the Golden Thread throughout the design phase, liaising with the Principal Contractor to ensure that design work carried out during the construction phase is monitored. We ensure continuous engagement with the Building Safety Regulator to comply with our duties.

CBG Compliance – Summary

Our team includes highly skilled Engineers, and Designers trained in building safety regulations. Along with over 20 years of industry expertise, CBG have the accreditation from professional bodies to undertake the role of Building Services and Specialist Lighting Designers.

At CBG we are committed to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to stay updated on regulatory changes. We conduct Regulatory Compliance Audits and comprehensive project reviews under our ISO19001 Quality Assurance System to ensure alignment with the BSA and adherence to Building Regulations. We support clients in developing and maintaining safety cases, conducting risk assessments, and implementing effective risk management strategies to protect building occupants.