The net economic
benefit of public service building control interventions in construction
projects could be as high as £1.85 billion.
That’s the view of
academics at the University of Wolverhampton who have calculated this figure as
part of a review of building control social return on investment.
LABC commissioned
the University of Wolverhampton to provide it with a formal academic review of
Building Control Social Return on Investment.
The review looked at
different ways of measuring value, establishing a methodology and studied
existing published papers and other research to estimate the scale of the
financial values involved.
The academics found
for 90,000 plans assessed by LABC in 2016/17, the net economic benefit or
social return on investment could be as high as £1.85 billion per year.
Commenting Paul
Everall, LABC Chief Executive, said: “As an ex-senior civil servant – at one
time Head of the Building Regulations Division – it’s fascinating for me to see
the initial estimate from the academic review. There’s clearly more work
to be done, but I’m now convinced that LABC should investigate this further
working with industry to help establish a more detailed economic
return. This value is important to everyone: for policy
makers, Ministers, local government, property owners, managers and all those
professionals in the construction industry.
“Complying with
building standards has a real pay-back. It’s not a question of ticking
boxes for their own sake. Our current system – despite all its flaws –
still improves the quality, performance, safety and life-span of
buildings. This is integral to all our homes, communities, workplaces and
economic life and it needs to be better understood and appreciated.”
