Building safety: government will not mandate golden-thread data language

Ministers have ruled out new laws to define how ‘golden thread’ building data is collected and shared – despite industry warnings.

A consultation response published last week states that the government “does not agree” with mandating a single approach to this key element of the post-Grenfell safety regime.

Key figures this summer warned that the principle of the golden thread could be undermined by the number of different digital platforms in use.

And more than one in four respondents to one question in the consultation, held last year, backed mandatory compliance with a particular standard or language.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said in its consultation response that it “notes the concerns about not mandating standards for structuring information, data coding or an index structure”.

But it added: “The government considers that imposing a solution for the whole of industry would not be proportionate or efficient.”

Dame Judith Hackitt's landmark report into the circumstances surrounding the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy identified a need for a ‘golden thread’ of information for higher-risk residential buildings to ensure critical data is gathered, stored and maintained throughout the building’s lifecycle.

The Building Safety Act 2022 progresses this concept, and the Health and Safety Executive gives advice on what should be recorded and how. The consultation carried out last year outlined further policy proposals.

Now, the latest update has revealed the level of unrest in the industry about the variability of the information being collected.

Source – constructionnews.co.uk