Introduction

0 Introduction This PAS addresses the new dutyholder role of Principal Designer, which is part of a drive to make buildings safer for the people who occupy them. This drive was galvanized by the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017, which prompted a review of the system for regulating high-rise residential buildings. Led by Dame Judith Hackitt, it concluded (among other findings) that the roles and responsibilities of those procuring, designing, constructing and maintaining all buildings (i.e. not just high-rise residential buildings) were unclear, and that competence across the system is variable. The UK government accepted the recommendations of her review, Building a Safer Future, Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Final Report, and, after consultation and due parliamentary process, introduced the Building Safety Bill [4]. 1.1 The Building Safety Bill The Building Safety Bill (BSB) 2021 sets out how the Government intends to deliver the principles and recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt’s report. It aims to ensure that there is greater accountability and responsibility for fire and structural safety issues throughout the lifecycle of buildings. It establishes a new regulatory regime for building safety and introduces more stringent requirements for higher-risk buildings (HRBs). It also sets the scene for instituting a culture change and motivating compliance in the industry. 1.2 Higher-risk buildings The definition of higher-risk buildings (HRBs) is set out in the draft Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations, 2021 [5]. NOTE The BSB enables the definition of HRB to be reviewed and amended over time by way of amending the Regulations. 1.3 New competence system and BSI FLEX 8670 Complementary work by the Competence Steering Group for Building a Safer Future (CSG) explored the competences needed for safety-critical disciplines working on higher risk buildings [6]. The final report, Setting the Bar, recommended that, as one of the three critical roles with oversight of building safety at each stage of a building’s lifecycle, the Principal Designer role would require enhanced competences, in addition to any discipline-specific competence. The CSG noted that individuals in the role need an overarching understanding of all aspects of building safety and the competence to interrogate design, challenge bad practice, identify major hazards, and minimize safety risks to occupiers of the completed asset. Setting the Bar paved the way for a new system for harmonizing and standardizing the competences needed to determine compliant building safety outcomes in the UK’s built environment industry as a whole, not just in HRBs. The new system of competences is underpinned by BSI Flex 8670, which establishes the overarching framework for behavioural and functional competences needed to improve both building safety outcomes and the dominant culture at work in the built environment sector. It also defines the scope and common terms of reference that discipline-, sector- or role- specific competence frameworks can conform to, aiming for consistency, reliability, and comparability regardless of the disciplines, sectors, or roles involved. NOTE This PAS 8671 is aligned to BSI Flex 8670. 1.4 New dutyholders and the Building Regulations The BSB’s strategy for driving change includes the creation of new dutyholder roles to improve compliance with the building regulations, including that of Principal Designer. Although the new Principal Designer role reflects the role of Principal Designer under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (hereafter referred to as the CDM