Kent housing law expert Professor Helen Carr has spoken to key UK policymakers at a seminar addressing the future for building regulations in England.
The seminar provided an opportunity to assess the most effective ways forward for improving the safety and standards of buildings in England. In her talk, Professor Carr, whose research interests centre on housing, homelessness and social justice, addressed current building regulations and the priorities going forward.
Among the speakers at the seminar, organised by the Westminster Social Policy Forum, were Clive Betts MP, Chair of the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.
Delegates discussed the Government’s plan to support the development of a more effective regulatory and accountability framework as called for by the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety led by Dame Judith Hackitt. They considered what more should be done to implement an effective testing and inspection regime for residents of high-rise buildings and discussed the Government’s ban on combustible materials (and whether it should also apply to non-residential buildings such as hospitals, hotels and student accommodation.)
Among more than 220 attendees were senior government officials, representatives of citizen groups, local authorities, campaigning organisations, businesses and their advisors and social and academic commentators, together with reporters from the national and trade media.
Professor Carr is interested in how law regulates those who are marginal to housing and property. Her interests go beyond security of tenure, considering, for instance, how law governs the distribution of housing resources, such as housing size, thermal comfort, building technologies, affordability and decency.
She sits as a part-time judge with the First Tier Tribunal (Property) Chamber and is currently a member of a Civil Justice Council working group on property dispute resolution. She has worked with the Welsh government on proposals to reform housing law and the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill is currently going through the National Assembly.