A subsidiary of a sanctioned firm has been appointed to provide services for high-risk buildings (HRBs) under a Building Safety Regulator (BSR) framework.
LB Building Control was appointed to the framework until 2027, according to a statement released by its parent company, Assent BC.
The statement, posted last Tuesday (12 November) on Assent BC’s LinkedIn account, said LB Building Control had been selected to “support the BSR’s efforts to ensure compliance with new legislation for high-risk and complex buildings”.
A press release from Assent BC’s PR company then said that the appointment followed “a rigorous tender process […] and highlights the group’s ability to meet all necessary criteria”.
The BSR does not appear to have issued a notice stating which companies have been appointed to its framework, but it confirmed LB Building Control’s appointment following repeated requests from Construction News.
However, the regulator declined to answer questions on the procurement process or to provide any more details about work covered under the framework.
Two industry sources contacted CN separately to express concern about the BSR’s appointment process.
According to the government’s Contracts Finder website, in July 2023, the BSR issued a procurement notice for a £39m framework to support its work, and said this would begin operations in October 2023.
Lot 1 of the framework was for tasks including helping the BSR assess submissions and providing advice on building-assessment certificate applications.
Lot 2 was for approved inspectors to assess applications under Part 3 of the Building Safety Act.
In March this year, Socotec announced it had been appointed to a BSR framework, with its responsibilities including supporting the regulator’s attempts to register all building inspectors by its delayed July deadline.
Assent BC – formerly Assent Building Control and since rebranded as Assent Building Compliance – was sanctioned by the then building control compliance body CICAIR over issues with its work. The first related to a conviction under Section 57 of the Building Act 1984.
In May, Assent was named in an alert by the BSR as one of two companies overseeing a combined 50 in-flight higher-risk projects where construction needed to stop so it could take over inspection work. This was because it had not registered as a building control approver.
In June, the BSR cited the two companies’ issues for causing delays to the building control process and a decision to “allocate extra resources” to clear its backlog. At the time, it declined to comment on whether this meant outsourcing work to private companies.
Data obtained by CN under the Freedom of Information Act shows that, as of 22 October, the BSR was waiting for nine more Assent projects to be submitted for validation. It had validated 35 of the more than 50 paused jobs.
One industry source said: “There is a lot of concern about the lack of transparency around the framework, especially since the BSR has details of every registered company and could have contacted them all.
“And you have to ask why they aren’t employing class 3 registered building inspectors directly.”
Another said: “No one seems to know where or when or how the tender was released, other than the few who have now won.”
After repeated requests for comment, the BSR (part of the Health and Safety Executive) said it would not answer questions about its procurement process or the framework, stating only that LB Building Control was providing “crucial support”.
A BSR spokesperson said: “We are committed to transparency. The systematic changes we’ve embarked on to improve standards and accountability simply would not have been possible without it.”
