The reporting gateways and the golden thread of information
The Bill establishes the following three “reporting gateways”, at which the relevant “duty holder” is required to provide the golden thread of information to the Regulator:
| Phase | Duty holder |
| Planning Application | Principal Designer |
| Construction Phase | Principal Contractor |
| Occupation | Accountable Person |
If the golden thread of information is not provided, or if upon review of the information the Regulator decides that the golden thread identifies building safety issues, then the Regulator can prevent the building lifecycle from progressing through the gateway to the next phase. Failure to provide the golden thread of information, or provision of information which identifies building safety issues, therefore has the potential to delay or prevent the construction of new HRRBs, and potentially prevent the occupation of HRRBS once construction works are completed.
Who carries the risk at each gateway?
A key question for employers, designers, and contractors alike is what happens when the Regulator does not grant permission to progress through a gateway. The two scenarios that will be of concern to social housing providers are where:
At present, design team appointments and building contracts do not expressly allocate these risks, nor will they include obligations to collate or provide the golden thread of information. Social housing providers will need to consider risk allocation in advance of the Bill passing into law, and it is likely that new contractual mechanisms will be needed in relation to the golden thread of information and the duty holder regime.
While the content of the golden thread of information has not yet been conclusively determined, at the practical completion gateway it is likely to include as-built drawings, operation and maintenance (“O&M”) files, and health and safety (“H&S”) files, amongst other documents. Social housing providers familiar with new-build programmes will be aware that contractors can be slow to provide as-built drawings and the O&M and H&S files. We are also aware of instances where contractors have never provided complete sets of these documents.
This raises questions about how social housing providers can manage the risks arising from the scenarios identified above, and what new contractual mechanisms are appropriate to incentivise performance by their design team and contractors. For instance:
Any loading of these new regulatory risks onto principal contractors and principal designers is likely to be reflected in increased costs from those parties, and it is not yet clear whether professional indemnity insurers will agree to cover the duty holder regime under professional indemnity policies. Nonetheless, the new duty holder regime raises significant risks to the construction of new HRRBs and social housing providers are encouraged to consider these risks before the Bill becomes law.
Our fire safety experts are experienced in advising social housing providers on building safety issues. We also provide training for social housing providers regarding building safety issues. If you have any questions in relation to the points raised in this ebriefing please contact Andrew Lancaster. If you have questions in relation to this series of ebriefings, or would like to find out more about our bespoke training programme, please contact Lorna Kenyon.
This is the fifth in a series of ebriefings on this topic. The full list can be found below:
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