The implementation of the Building Safety Act 2023 has led to a significant shortage of qualified inspectors, impacting local authority building control teams and creating pressure within the construction industry.
Barking and Dagenham Council's Planning Performance Review Sub-Committee discussed the challenges faced by the Building Control service during a meeting on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Barry Coughlan, Head of Statutory Planning Services, explained that the Act has redesigned how local authority building control teams operate, introducing a classification system and more stringent registration requirements for surveyors. Surveyors must now pass tests and be suitably qualified to achieve registration. This has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of inspectors qualified to sign off certain building works,
particularly for high-risk buildings.
Under the Act, high-risk buildings are defined as those over 38 metres. For these buildings, only Class 3 inspectors can sign off works, and their numbers are extremely low, exacerbating the recruitment challenges. Coughlan stated that the service is preparing for a Building Safety Regulator audit, with Barking and Dagenham expected to be among the first authorities audited in London. The audit is described as a very rigorous process
that can take five to six months
and will review every building control authority in the country.
The council is working to align its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with those of the Building Safety Regulator and has been discussing updates to its Service Level Agreement (SLA) with BeFirst. The previous KPIs, designed before the Building Safety Act, did not align well with the regulator's requirements, whereas the Building Safety Regulator's KPIs are generally considered an improvement. Despite the challenges, the Building Control KPIs have shown significant improvement over the last year. This is attributed to the team being at full complement with a new Head of Building Control, Natalie, who is actively preparing the service for the regulator's scrutiny, and additional administrative support. The impact of this support is evident in one specific KPI, which rose to 100% in the last quarter after an administrative officer was appointed in November.
The action plan for audit preparedness includes implementing Quality Management Systems (QMSs) and Operational Standard Rules (OSR) to enhance processes and ensure proper record-keeping with proper paper trails.
The plan is updated monthly and includes work streams focused on financial regulation compliance and publishing records. The audit is expected to take place after the summer, and while the meeting did not explicitly detail repercussions for non-compliance, it was noted that some authorities have received quite poor outcomes.
Further details on planning performance can be found in the Authority Monitoring Report 2024-25 Highlights and the Public reports pack for the Planning Performance Review Sub-Committee.
