Who is the FSBRG and what exactly do they do?

19th December 2024

The Fire Safety Building Regulation Group (FSBRG) was started in lockdown by Lisa Hendricks and Paul Le Mare to address the challenge that the building control sector was facing – that local authority building control and private approved inspectors always seemed to be on different sides of the divide not speaking to each other. The FSBRG was started with the goal of uniting the industry in a single voice no matter what their background – it was, and still is, a safe platform for both Registered Building Control Approvers (Approved Inspectors at the time) and LABC to speak.

Assent Building Compliance became involved with the FSBRG at its inception, encouraging both Paul and Lisa to set up the group and start a broader conversation outside of the business.  The business is proud to provide an environment where members of the team can pursue interests that align with the broader building safety environment, but which are not just related to Assent.

The group quickly grew to include representatives from the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and the Health and Safety Executive with monthly catch-up calls where those involved could ask the questions that the group believed were influencing decision making in the industry. By now the FSBRG had grown to over 50 regular attendees so the decision was made to host an event in Birmingham to bring people together face to face. After the success of this event and working with the Association of Building Control Approvers (ABCA), an event was hosted in Manchester with the HSE as the headline speakers, talking about the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and what its introduction would mean for the building control sector.

This conference effectively propelled the FSBRG into a new status. Attendance at the monthly calls is now significantly higher with regular attendance from representatives of organisations as varied as the Health and Safety Executive, Building Safety Regulator, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Association of Registered Building Inspectors, the Association of Building Control Approvers, NFCC, Total Training and Development and insurance companies. The group is still very much seen as a safe place to raise issues or concerns that affect the building control sector as a whole but there is also a real sense of community within the group – we are all there to support one another.

This has become particularly important during a period that has seen a huge number of building control officers, both local authority and private, leaving the industry due to the changes brought about by the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) and the subsequent introduction of the BSR. With the new classifications introduced and the need for all surveyors to go through a process to demonstrate their competencies, there are a lot of companies seeking the skills of a relatively small number of people. This means that people movement, for those who have decided to stay in the industry, is rife and big salaries are being offered to attract people away from their current roles.

Ultimately the ones who suffer are the smaller firms. It’s very difficult to be competitive in a landscape were the salaries being offered are beyond your means so keeping hold of your best surveyors has become increasingly difficult. This is certainly one of the themes that we have seen discussed on our monthly meetings.

Another area that we are desperately trying to tackle is the information void for homeowners. There has been no communication from the government to the average homeowner about the implications of the BSA and what it means for domestic projects. This is something that the group is actively trying to address in order to help our customers through the process.

As for a vision for the future, well it depends who you talk to. For Lisa this is about raising the profile of building control and fire engineering as a career choice. There is so little known about what the roles entail that it is not surprising that the industry is facing a real and present skills shortage. “How does anyone even know that these opportunities exist?” asks Lisa. “I’d love to create a lasting legacy that means that people see becoming an registered building inspector or a fire engineer as a long term, worthy career that provides them with growth opportunities. We have a long way to go in this but I truly believe that this is a long term career that can offer an individual so much over their working life.”

For Paul, however, the answer is slightly different. “There is an immediate priority for us which lies in energizing the building control sector to help itself. We don’t want the FSBRG to simply be a safe haven but a place to truly work together to create a better future for the sector no matter whether your role is in local authority or in the private sector.

Longer term I would like our legacy to simply be that we have created an all inclusive community of likeminded professionals who care about building safety with the goal of positively promoting the sector and the open sharing of information.”

Assent has continued to support the FSBRG, providing a platform for Paul and Lisa to further highlight the great work that the group is doing, supporting through marketing efforts and regular attendance at events.