Strengthening local building control capacity, capability and financial sustainability

Question 1

Accepted Answer

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to draw your attention to three linked developments that provide an opportunity for local authorities to strengthen building control services: significant workforce funding, forthcoming charging reform and new digital work to support greater consistency and transparency in financial management and reporting.

Taken together, these measures reflect the government’s commitment to strengthening a more resilient, capable and sustainable building control service. They are intended to support local authorities to maintain effective services and to underpin wider priorities, including safe housing delivery, remediation, regeneration, net zero and public safety.

The government has announced £70 million of funding to address shortages in building safety professions, including £55 million for building control. Working with LABC, the representative body for local authority building control in England and Wales, the department is supporting the recruitment and training of new Registered Building Inspectors and the upskilling of existing inspectors, including to enable work on more complex and higher-risk buildings.

This is a significant but time-limited opportunity. Participating local authorities will not incur a direct cost, as trainees will be employed by LABC for a period of up to 2 years while in training and seconded to local authorities. Authorities are not then committed to employ trainees at the end of their training, but by doing so, the programme provides a practical route to grow local capacity and strengthen future resilience. I encourage you to enable your authority to take full advantage of this opportunity.

Alongside this workforce investment, the government is taking forward reforms to the way in which local authorities charge for building control work. The charging regulations were last significantly updated in 2010. Since then, the operating context for building control has changed substantially, and we recognise many services face increasing pressure on capacity and financial sustainability.

Subject to Parliamentary approval, the reforms will allow local authorities to charge for a wider range of building control functions on a fuller cost-recovery basis. This will include the ability to recover a reasonable proportion of overheads and costs, including those associated with recruitment, training and development. The reforms are intended to support more financially sustainable services, improved compliance with building regulations and continued investment in professional capability and capacity.

The government is also taking forward a digital programme to support these reforms. We have launched a discovery process to explore how a data standard could be developed that would support the development of more effective charging schemes and the annual publication of building control financial statements. This work is intended to support a more consistent, transparent and usable approach to financial information, helping local authorities and central government better understand the cost and sustainability of building control services.

The insights of local authority building control and finance colleagues will be important to this work. Authorities interested in contributing to the discovery should contact BPDengagement@communities.gov.uk .

Further details of the charging reforms will follow when the regulations are laid in Parliament, which we expect to happen shortly. Local authorities interested in accessing the funded workforce opportunities should contact LABC at info@labc.co.uk.

The department has also committed funding to explore new models of building control delivery. Further details will be provided in due course, but we would welcome early engagement from local authorities interested in considering different approaches to service delivery, particularly in the context of local government reorganisation and wider public service reform.

I would be grateful if you could ensure these opportunities are considered at senior level within your authority as part of our shared commitment to strengthening local building control capacity, capability and financial sustainability. I would also encourage relevant colleagues to engage with LABC and the digital discovery so that your authority is well placed to benefit from this programme of support.

Yours faithfully,

Alexandra Parish
Deputy Director, Building Professions
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

Question 2

Enquiries

Accepted Answer

All enquiries on matters covered in this letter should be addressed to:

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF

E-mail: BPDengagement@communities.gov.uk

Strengthening local building control capacity, capability and financial sustainability

Applies to England