Chapter 9

Gateways - HRBs: The Golden Thread, Mandatory Occurrence Reporting and Information Handover

This chapter – at a glance

  • Parts 4 and 5 of The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023, referred to in this chapter as the Regulations.
  • Introduction and Transitional Provisions
  • Part 4 – The Golden Thread, Mandatory Occurrence Reporting, and Information Handover
  • The Golden Thread (Regulation 31)
  • Fundamentals of the Golden Thread
  • What should be included within the Golden Thread?
  • Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (Regulations 32-37)
  • MORS
  • Reporting
  • Information Handover (Regulation 38)

Part 4 – The Golden Thread, Mandatory Occurrence Reporting, and Information Handover

Part 4 of the Regulations relates to the creation and storage of information for handover to the persons responsible for the HRB after completion. It can be split out into 3 key areas:

  1. The Golden Thread (Regulation 31)
  2. Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (Regulations 32-37)
  3. Information Handover (Regulation 38)

The Golden Thread (Regulation 31)

The idea of the Golden Thread is to ensure that accurate building information is securely created, updated and accessible throughout a building’s life cycle. The Golden Thread will be born out of steps taken to meet Regulation 11A (suitable arrangements to ensure compliance with requirements etc) of the Building Regulations and will require someone to:

  1. create and maintain an electronic facility holding the Golden Thread of information; and
  2. ensure that those involved in the design of an HRB or carrying out work to an HRB to have access to that electronic facility containing the Golden Thread.

Fundamentals of the Golden Thread

Part 4 sets out that the Golden Thread must be accurate and up to date and contain consistent language and terminology throughout and importantly, must be made available as soon as reasonably practicable to a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor (as defined under the Building Safety Act 2022) upon their request.

What should be included within the Golden Thread?

  • Designs
  • All designs for building control applications will need to be uploaded at that stage and those designs should then be updated, if, and when needed and before the construction begins, to reflect the final design of the works.
  • Other Useful Information
  • Before construction begins, the Golden Thread must also contain a copy of the fire statement, all relevant plans and each of the other documents included in the building control approval application which has been approved by the BSR and all the evidence recorded, pursuant to the construction control plan, to show compliance with the applicable requirements of the Building Regulations.
  • Emergency Repair Notices.
  • Building Control approvals etc – e.g. When the BSR imposes a ‘term of requirement’ on the grant of building control approval and the information and documents required under Regulation 24 (decisions on change control application).
  • All changes must be recorded during the works e.g., the change control log as required under Regulation 18(2) must be kept within the Golden Thread or a change of dutyholder (as per Regulation 29).
  • All mandatory occurrence reports.
  • Completion (and partial completion) certificates (and all related applications etc related to those certificates).

See Chapter 12 for detail concerning the Golden Thread of information that relates to the occupational phase of an HRB.

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (Regulations 32-37)

In Regulations 32-37, mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) has been set up for HRBs, and, where identified principal dutyholders will now need to issue mandatory occurrence reports. The reports will be publicly available so that others can learn from the contents. Non-reporting by dutyholders will be regarded as non-compliance and there are applicable sanctions.

MORS

The principal dutyholders (for these purposes those key players are defined at Regulation 35) must set up a Mandatory Occurrence Reporting System (MORS) before the commencement of construction and maintain it throughout the construction.

Anyone involved in the design and construction of the HRB will need to be properly informed to be able to use the MORS. Alongside this, the Regulations impose an obligation on the principal dutyholders to undertake regular inspections to observe any safety occurrences during the construction phase.

Reporting

Where a principal dutyholder becomes aware of a safety occurrence they must send a notice of occurrence to the BSR and follow this up with a written report of the occurrence within 10 days. The report must contain various specified details which are set out at Regulation 33(3). There are certain circumstances under which a principal dutyholder can defend not making a MOR to the BSR and those are set out at Regulation 34.

Information Handover (Regulation 38)

This Regulation deals with the handover of deemed crucial information from the client to the relevant person (who is the RP and/or the AP of the building) upon completion.

Regulation 38 sets out that no later than the date that the work is completed the client must give to the relevant person:

(i) the BFLO information (as defined within Regulation 38 and relating to specified paragraphs in Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations); and

(ii) the Golden Thread of information.

It must be provided in the same format as it is held and in a way that it can be updated and maintained by the relevant person going forward. The relevant person must acknowledge receipt of the information.

As with the Golden Thread at Regulation 31, this requirement to handover the information is not applicable if the works to an existing HRB are limited to scheme work, exempt work or work under Regulation 10 (as defined under the Regulations). Regulation 39 sets out the set of required information to be handed over if the work to an existing HRB was scheme work.

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