Newsletters

Good systems cannot replace professional judgement, but they can help make sure the information needed to make those judgements is available when it matters.

Last month we updated you on two areas of development: work around incorporating Building Safety Act requirements into CDM ToolKit CS Cloud, and progress towards moving our Asbestos ToolKit functionality towards the Cloud. We will continue to share updates as that work progresses.

In the meantime, our existing solutions continue to provide practical ways of managing compliance information. CDM ToolKit CS Cloud supports core CDM project documentation including Pre-Construction Information, Construction Phase Plans and Health & Safety Files, while Asbestos ToolKit CS supports asbestos registers, survey information, management plans, risk assessments and associated records.

As always, if you would like to see how our solutions work in practice, or discuss how you currently manage your health and safety information, please get in touch with the Ai Solutions team by email at [email protected], or by phone on 01525 850 343 to arrange a convenient demonstration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Building Safety Levy — new requirements from 1 October

The Building Safety Levy comes into operation in England on 1 October 2026.

The levy has been introduced to contribute towards the cost of addressing building safety defects. It is administered through the building control process, with local authorities acting as collecting authorities.

Relevant building control applications involving new dwellings or purpose-built student accommodation will need to include levy information. The charge itself applies where the conditions set out in the regulations are met, including where the development constitutes a major residential development — generally 10 or more new dwellings or 30 or more new purpose-built student accommodation bedspaces — unless an exemption applies.

Where a levy is due, the client is responsible for payment and it must be paid before the earlier of completion or occupation.

Applications submitted before 1 October are generally outside the levy. However, an application submitted before that date which is rejected and then resubmitted on or after 1 October may become liable.

For anybody involved in residential development, this is therefore more than simply another administrative change: the timing and quality of building control submissions can now have a direct financial consequence.

Find out more: Read the Government's Building Safety Levy guidance: Building Safety Levy: Guidance.

Gateway 2 — performance improves while the workload grows

The Building Safety Regulator published its latest Gateway 2 transparency data on 15th September, covering the period to the end of August.

For new higher-risk buildings and conversions, the approval rate has now reached 92%, with a median approval time of 22 weeks. A year earlier, the equivalent figures were a 39% approval rate and a median approval time of 43 weeks.

External remediation applications also showed improvement, with an 89% approval rate and a median approval time of 33 weeks.

At the same time, the overall workload is increasing. BSR reported 1,654 Gateway 2 applications in progress, an increase of more than 100 during August, and acknowledged that the approaching Building Safety Levy may be contributing to the increase.

One other point in the regulator's update is worth noting. Its growing inspection programme has found a small number of examples where building work had not followed agreed designs and remedial work was required.

The message is therefore not simply that applications are moving faster. Approval is one stage of the process; delivering what was actually approved remains just as important.

Find out more: The full June to August Gateway 2 transparency data is available from the Building Safety Regulator: Building control approval application data, June to August 2026.

Design risk — when a near miss is not fully closed out

A recent HSE prosecution provides a particularly serious reminder about the importance of managing risk through the design process.

Two companies were fined a combined £1.3 million after a 130kg window unit fell around 300 feet from the 26th floor of a London development, killing a member of the public below.

HSE found that the design of the bespoke windows had changed from opening inwards to opening outwards, but the resulting risk had not been effectively assessed.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the case is that there had already been a warning. More than a year before the fatal incident, another window had fallen from the same penthouses and narrowly missed workers. An internal review followed, but HSE found that key areas of concern had not been followed up effectively.

Following the prosecution, HSE specifically highlighted the role of Principal Designers, saying that they need to clearly establish what services architects, designers and consultants will provide and then monitor their performance so that risks are identified and necessary improvements coordinated.

The convictions themselves were under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 rather than CDM 2015, but HSE's comments make the lessons directly relevant to those carrying out Principal Designer duties.

A near miss is valuable information. The important part is what happens next.

Find out more: Read the full HSE prosecution report: Two major companies sentenced over death of man killed by window falling from luxury penthouse.

Managing Principal Designer and CDM information? CDM ToolKit CS Cloud provides a structured environment for managing project information and core CDM documentation including Pre-Construction Information, Construction Phase Plans and Health & Safety Files. Contact Ai Solutions if you would like to see the system in action.

Working at height — simple precautions still matter

A house builder has been fined £300,000 after a 24-year-old labourer suffered serious spinal injuries when he fell through an unprotected stairwell opening.

The worker fell one storey onto concrete at a development of four new homes. HSE found that the stairwell opening had not been securely covered and its edges had not been protected.

The investigation identified failures in the planning and supervision of the work at height and in the measures used to prevent a fall.

What makes cases such as this particularly difficult to read is that the necessary precautions were not complicated. HSE identified measures including securely covering the opening or installing suitable edge protection.

Falls from height remain one of construction's most persistent risks. Familiar work and relatively straightforward tasks should never be allowed to make basic controls appear optional.

Find out more: Read the HSE case and its guidance on preventing falls from height: Construction company fined after 24-year-old father falls through unprotected stairwell opening.

Asbestos — “If in doubt, check it out this autumn”

HSE issued a timely asbestos reminder at the end of September, particularly aimed at those working in or managing older properties.

Properties built or refurbished before 2000 can contain asbestos in locations that are not always obvious. HSE highlights areas around fireplaces, flues and heating systems, as well as circuit boards, pipes, boilers, water tanks, insulation, soffits and eaves.

That is particularly relevant at this time of year, when boiler servicing, heating work and improvements such as replacement windows and doors are commonly undertaken.

Asbestos-containing materials that are in good condition and left undisturbed may present a low risk. The danger comes when material is drilled, cut, removed or otherwise disturbed and fibres are released.

Before work starts, HSE advises considering the age of the building, whether asbestos is already known to be present and whether an asbestos survey has been carried out. If asbestos is suspected, it should be assumed to be present until proven otherwise.

Find out more: HSE's latest asbestos bulletin includes practical guidance and links to its asbestos register and management plan resources: Asbestos: Disturbing asbestos-containing materials.

Managing asbestos information across your property portfolio? Ai Solutions' Asbestos ToolKit CS supports the audited production of asbestos registers, property and survey documentation, management plans and reports, risk assessments, tasking and communications. Please contact us if you would like to discuss your current asbestos management arrangements.

Legionella — a risk assessment should remain a living document

Not every useful reminder needs to follow an incident or prosecution. HSE's Legionella guidance makes an important point about risk assessments: they need to reflect the system as it exists now, not simply the position when the assessment was first produced.

A Legionella risk assessment should record management responsibilities, competence, potential sources of risk, controls, monitoring and maintenance procedures, inspection results and arrangements for regular review.

HSE says assessments should be reviewed particularly where there is reason to suspect that they are no longer valid, and that existing controls must continue to be maintained even where the assessed risk is low.

The same principle applies to records. Where monitoring and inspection records are required, HSE states that the results should be retained for at least five years.

For facilities and property teams, that makes a useful distinction: completing the risk assessment is not the end of the process. The controls, checks and records that follow are what demonstrate that the risk continues to be managed.

Find out more: HSE provides detailed guidance on identifying and assessing Legionella risks and maintaining the appropriate records:

• Identify and assess sources of Legionella risk

• Keeping Legionella records

Managing Legionella responsibilities? Ai Solutions can help organisations manage Legionella compliance information. Contact the team if you would like to discuss your current requirements and how our Legionella management solution may assist.

Construction output — a mixed picture heading into autumn

The latest official construction figures show a slightly softer picture after several months of stronger three-monthly growth.

According to the Office for National Statistics, total construction output fell by an estimated 0.5% in the three months to July 2026. New work fell by 0.4%, while repair and maintenance fell by 0.7%.

The monthly picture was a little more positive. Output increased by an estimated 0.1% in July, although that growth came entirely from repair and maintenance, which rose by 0.8%. New work fell by 0.4% during the month.

Private housing new work recorded the largest negative contribution to new work in July, falling by 4.9%.

As always with monthly statistics, one figure rarely tells the whole story. The three-month trend suggests some easing after the stronger growth seen earlier in the year, while individual sectors continue to move in different directions.

The next ONS construction output release is due on 15 October.

Find out more: Read the latest Construction Output in Great Britain bulletin from the Office for National Statistics: Construction output in Great Britain: July 2026.

One story in particular stands out this month: a serious near miss occurred, an investigation followed, concerns were identified - and yet a later incident still resulted in a fatality. It is an uncomfortable example, but an important one.

Across CDM, asbestos, Legionella, building safety and general health and safety management, we generate a great deal of information. Risk assessments, surveys, plans, inspections, design reviews and project records all have a purpose.

Their real value is not in proving that a document exists. It is in making sure somebody sees the information, understands what it means and takes the necessary action.

That is where good information management and good health and safety management become the same conversation.

Have a safe and productive October.
The Ai Solutions Team