Agenda item

Report by Building Control Manager (attached).

The Joint Committee considered a report by the Building Control Manager (circulated previously) regarding the Building Control Business update.

The Building Control Manager advised that he had just returned from sick leave, so the report was prepared whilst he was unwell and as a result was not as detailed as it would usually be.

He explained that the workload had reduced in July and August of 2021 and recovered in September before reducing again in October. However, the service was moving a long on budget during a slowness in the industry.

Individual officer workloads remained high despite a reduction in applications in July and August as the decrease took time to filter through to impact day to day activity.

One of the team’s surveyors retired in October 2021 and the vacancy had been filled via the appointment of the trainee, who had recently completed their apprenticeship and obtained a first class honours degree in Public Service Building Control.

There had been some staffing issues due to sickness, with four surveyors within a team of nine having contracted Covid-19 on separate occasions. However, with all staff currently working from home there had been no risks to other members of staff and those affected were able to work from home once well enough to do so.

As previously reported there was an application to the Magistrates Court for an order under Section 77for the building Act regarding Rowan Cottage, Chittlehampton, which was heard and granted by the Magistrate on 28^th September 2021. The authority was now waiting to see if the owner will take action.

As anticipated with the transition to the new regime for Building Control under the Building Safety Regulator, Approved Inspectors were reviewing their operations and cleaning up their books. As a result the service was experiencing an increase in Initial Notice cancellations and reversions as Approved Inspectors return projects to the Local Authority that they were not able to bring to a satisfactory completion.

In addition, Construction Industry Council Approved Inspector Register (CICAIR) who were currently responsible for monitoring Approved Inspectors had withdrawn approval of Celtech Consultancy Ltd and Campagna Ltd following their failure to meet the required standards during re-approval audit of their systems and processes. He advised that their licences would be valid until April 2022 to enable them to wind down their operations in a timely manner. He explained that the service had already received Initial Notice cancellations from Celtech Consultancy Ltd, who had some existing projects in that area.

The Building Control Manager was currently exploring options to address the additional work and advised that one way to mitigate the situation would be to recruit two trainees to the service instead of one.

In response to a question regarding the timescale for enforcement action if the owner does not respond regarding Rowan Cottage, Chittlehampton. The Building Control Manager advised that there was some confusion in the lead up to the hearing in that the defendant was non-responsive. Officers considered asking for an adjournment. However, the decision was taken not to and the North Devon Council’s solicitor had written to the court to ascertain how long the authority should wait prior to taking any further action, adding that it was usually 60 days. Reimbursement of the Council’s expenses would then be sought from the defendant.

In response to a question regarding the opportunity to employ additional trainees from Petroc, the Building Control Manager advised that he would need to have a separate conversation with the Head of Planning, Housing and Health in relation to the suggestion as previous attempts to recruit trainees from Petroc had seen no applications. He added that the most successful recruitment in previous years had been via applicants that were already working within the industry.

Councillor Deed advised that he had attended the graduation event at Petroc recently and that the Human Resources Director would be happy to discuss trainee opportunities with the Council.

In response to a suggestion regarding the importance of establishing a working relationship with Petroc together with the suggestion that officers visit the college to explain the building control process, the Building Control Manager advised that he would be happy to be involved in such a process.

The Head of Planning, Housing and Health added that at the current time, there was a challenge for technical roles across the board. He explained that there was a requirement to develop a wider strategy to recruit officers into service areas such as Building Control, Planning, Environmental Health and Housing. He added that the government were incentivising councils to recruit and train people through the government funded graduate scheme. The scheme allowed people to gain qualifications, which would be funded by the Council and then required to work for the Council for a period of time following their qualification or they would be required to repay the fees.

The Building Control Manager advised that trainees required a lot of time investment, which was dependent on the level at which they were brought to the role, which inevitably put additional pressure on an already stretched service.

The Director of Place, Mid Devon District Council echoed the comments made by the Head of Planning, Housing and Health, North Devon Council and welcomed the opportunity to explore how to address resources going forward. He added that from his previous experiences with Petroc that work experience placements had been very successful in allowing students to gain an insight into roles within the Building Control service.

The Joint Committee discussed the following points:

·       The unfortunate situation regarding Building Inspectors losing their licence but also acknowledged the importance of ensuring that residents live in properties that were built to a safe and satisfactory standard.

·       The ongoing issue with the supply of building materials.

·       The aspirations to raise the standards with the risk being the speed of change together with the lack of available resources to inspect buildings.

·       The major shortage of Building Inspectors with only 3,500 currently working within the UK.

·       Agreed that there was a requirement to explore all avenues of recruitment potential.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

The Joint Committee expressed its congratulations to the member of staff on their achievement.