Head of Building Safety Regulator retires

Peter Baker has retired as  head of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), which sits within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

He will also, therefore, no longer serve as HSE’s chief inspector of buildings.

HSE director of regulation Philip White (an ex-head of the organisation’s construction division) will take over Baker’s responsibilities on an interim basis as director of building safety while a recruitment process takes place.

Baker (pictured) became chief inspector of buildings in 2021, a year after the body was established in shadow form. The Building Safety Regulator was formally handed powers when the Building Safety Act received Royal Assent in April 2022.

Baker earlier served as HSE’s chief inspector of construction from 2015 to 2018.

The BSR function was among the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in a report commissioned by the government after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.

The regulator is responsible for overseeing the design and construction of new buildings, as well as the refurbishment of existing buildings that are within scope of the new building safety regime under the Building Safety Act.

Earlier this month, the new regulator began accepting registrations for higher-risk buildings above 18 metres tall.

Having confirmed Baker’s retirement in a statement, the HSE added: “The Building Safety Regulator continues to work closely with government and industry, and we expect the regime to be fully operational by April 2024.”