HSE has launched its first-ever Statutory Residents’ Panel (SRP) for high-rise building residents to voice their opinions on the new building safety regime
The Building Safety Act 2022 requires the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) – established in the HSE as part of the building safety reforms, following recommendations in the Hackitt review after the Grenfell Tower tragedy – to set up a Statutory Residents’ Panel to help develop a new building safety regime.
The Statutory Residents’ panel will comprise twenty residents living in high-rise buildings across England from different locations, housing types and demographics.
The panel will meet up to six times in the first year to give BSR advice on different aspects of its design, policies, and procedures based on members’ real-life experiences of living in high-rise properties.
High-rise building residents will be ‘at the heart’ of the new building safety regime
Members of the panel will play an important role in helping to decide how the building safety regime will work in the future.
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduces a more stringent regulatory regime for England to make sure that residents living in high-rise buildings are safe in their homes.
HSE’s chief inspector of buildings, Peter Baker, said: “Residents will be at the heart of the new building safety regime. Setting up the Residents’ Panel is an important milestone in the BSR’s development.
“This group of individuals will make sure that residents will have a say on how building safety will be managed in the future, building on the valuable early work undertaken by our Interim Residents’ Panel.
“Good communication with all high-rise residents is so critical to the success of the BSR and the new regime. We want to make sure residents understand what the reforms mean for them, what their rights are, and what part they will play in the building safety regime in the future. This panel will act as the voice of their community. If you live in a high-rise building and would like to take part, we want to hear from you.”
Applications close on Friday 18 November 2022. Find out more information on the Residents Panel here.
