BSR consultation on proposed fees and charges regulations

Overview

The Building Safety (Fees and Charges) Regulations 202[3] and charging scheme

This consultation sets out the Building Safety Regulator’s proposals for the Building Safety (Fees and Charges) Regulations and an underpinning charging scheme. We will consult on these proposals over a period of 10 weeks.

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA22) establishes the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

BSR will have three main functions:

• leading implementation of the new regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings (which includes high-rise buildings)
• helping and encouraging the built environment industry and building control professionals to improve their competence and organisational capability
• overseeing the safety and standards of all buildings

Cost recovery will be one source of BSR’s funding. Under BSA22, regulations can be made to allow BSR to charge fees and recover charges for, or in connection with, carrying out its relevant (“chargeable”) functions. This includes the recovery of expenditure incurred by a relevant authority or third party as a result of any action taken to comply with a BSR request or direction for assistance.

BSA22 also allows BSR to make proposals for such regulations to the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling up Housing and Communities, following consultation.

We are now consulting on those draft proposals. The consultation package is made up of three elements which should be read together before responding:

1. The consultation document. This sets out the context of and further detail about the proposals. It includes areas which are out of the scope of the consultation. The consultation document also highlights relevant areas for specific dutyholders.
2. A draft statutory instrument - the Building Safety (Fees and Charges) Regulations. This sets out what BSR may seek or recover costs for, or in connection with, the performance of its relevant (“chargeable”) functions under BSA22 and gives effect to an underpinning charging scheme
3. The proposed charging scheme. This sets out: the activities for which BSR will make a fee or charge; the trigger point for that activity; the legislation it falls under; the way any fees and charges payable under the regulations will be calculated; and the dutyholder from whom we will seek to recover costs

Where legislation is referred to in the charging scheme schedules, the schedule identifies this if it is already in force. Where it is not yet in force, the schedule highlights that provisions are to be introduced. For ease of reference, the Building Safety Act 2022 can be found at  Building Safety Act (legislation.gov.uk) and the Building Act 1984 (as amended) at Building Act 1984 (legislation.gov.uk).

We are including the charging scheme in this consultation to help make sense of the new regulations proposed.

The consultation asks for views on whether the cost recovery proposals (and, specifically, the trigger points proposed for fees and charges) seem reasonable. We also want to hear your views on whether the proposed approach means we are seeking to recover costs from the appropriate person.

Who is this directed at?

While the consultation package is open to everyone to comment, the regulations and charging scheme are very technical in nature and we expect the consultation to be of most interest to industry and trade stakeholders. This includes local regulators and new dutyholders.

These are the stakeholders who will want to consider how to prepare for the new regulatory regime before any final regulations come into force.

We expect the first point of cost recovery to be April 2023 (for the registration of higher-risk buildings).

Responding to this consultation

The consultation will close on 7 October 2022. You must respond by this date.

The link to the online survey can be found at the bottom of this page.

Your responses to the consultation

We aim to make our consultation procedures as thorough and open as possible.

We will acknowledge and consider all responses. We may contact you again if - for example - we have a query about your response.

Confidentiality

Any information you provide in response to this consultation may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with:

• the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
• the Data Protection Act 2018
• General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
• Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR)

If you would like us to treat any of the information you provide as confidential, please explain your reasons for this in your response.

If we receive a request under FOIA or EIR for the information you have provided we will take full account of your explanation. However, we cannot guarantee that confidentiality will be maintained in all circumstances. For this reason, we will disregard any automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system.

We will process all personal data collected as part of this consultation in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). HSE’s Privacy Policy Statement is available on the HSE website.

Code of practice on consultation

We follow the Government’s consultation principles. You can read more about these at GOV.UK.

If you need a more accessible format of this document, please email us at HSE.Online@hse.gov.uk and we will consider your request.

Complaints

If you have any complaints about the consultation process (as opposed to comments about the issues) write to:

Susan Robinson
HSE Consultation Coordinator
2.2 Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
L20 7HS
Email: susan.robinson@hse.gov.uk

We aim to reply to all complaints within 10 working days. If you are not satisfied with the outcome you can contact:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

You can also write to:

Sarah Albon
Chief Executive
Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS

You can ask your MP to take up your case with us or with ministers.

Your MP may ask the Independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman) to review your complaint.