The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 represented the greatest loss of life in a residential fire since the Second World War. Since the tragedy there has been a significant programme of work across government and the wider built environment industry to reform the building safety system in line with the recommendations in Dame Judith Hackitt's Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

Dame Judith Hackitt identified the procurement processes used across the construction industry as one of the many areas that urgently need to be improved. At the time of the publication of this guidance the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is still underway, but there has been significant criticism of the procurement process that governed the Grenfell Tower refurbishment project.

This guidance has been developed to support clients and industry in adopting and implementing procurement practices that will deliver safer buildings. It examines evidence of the ways in which collaborative procurement can lead to safer, better- quality outcomes, and it explains how clients and their project teams can use collaborative procurement in practice.

Collaborative approaches have been proven to succeed in reducing risks and improving value on construction projects in the public sector and the private sector. These approaches should be adopted on all construction projects, and this guidance show why it is essential to adopt them on projects that are 'in-scope' of the new regulatory regime that will be introduced through the government's Building Safety Bill (the 'Bill').

The Bill describes the most significant changes to building safety legislation in decades and undertakes wholesale reform of the associated regulatory system. It introduces a new era of accountability, making it clear where the responsibility for managing safety risks lies throughout the design, construction and occupation of buildings that are in-scope, with more onerous sanctions for those that fail to meet their obligations. Through the Bill and associated legislation, the government will introduce a more stringent regulatory framework in design and construction led by the Building Safety Regulator for new high-rise residential buildings, care homes and hospitals which are 18 metres or more in height or at least seven storeys ('higher-risk' buildings). As part of these reforms, the government will establish three gateways at key stages in design and construction that will apply to higher-risk buildings:

■ 'Planning gateway one' - at the planning application stage

■ 'Gateway two' - before building work starts

■ 'Gateway three' - when building work is completed.

This guidance is designed to support these reforms and it recommends procurement and contracting questions that should be addressed in advance of each 'gateway' application.

This guidance also supports a more stringent regulatory framework for building work carried out in existing higher-risk buildings, which will be led by the new Building Safety Regulator and will strengthen oversight of prescribed refurbishments:

■ Before building work starts to assess whether proposals comply with building regulations and assure building safety

■ During building work, through inspections at key stages, and the requirement for significant changes from the original proposal to be assessed by dutyholders and approved by the Building Safety Regulator before they are made

■ On completion of building work to check compliance with building regulations before a completion certificate is issued.

This guidance should be read in the context of the Building Act 1984 and Building Regulations and the wider health and safety regulatory regime, including the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and supporting guidance published by the Health and Safety Executive.

This guidance is designed to support:

■ Public and private sector clients and their advisers when implementing collaborative processes, relationships and systems as features of their procurement strategies, procedures and contracts for projects in-scope and when addressing questions that are relevant to each 'gateway' point

■ The parties identified in the Bill comprising 'dutyholders' during design and construction (namely the 'Client', 'Principal Designer', 'Principal Contractor', 'Designers' and 'Contractors'), 'Accountable Persons', 'Building Safety Managers' and all other consultants, subcontractors and suppliers when using collaborative processes, relationships and systems to inform, support and integrate the design, construction, supply and operation of an in-scope project and when implementing risk management so as to prioritise safety and quality issues and the needs of residents

■ The Building Safety Regulator when establishing how the industry moves to safer practices across the lifecycle of buildings in-scope of the new regulatory regime.

The collaborative procurement practices recommended in this guidance are not experimental or theoretical. They are well- established and have successfully achieved improved value and reduced risks on many projects in the housing sector and in other built environment sectors. This guidance does not prescribe particular procurement models or contract forms and it recognises that clients in the public and private sectors adopt varying approaches. Instead, it summarises ways in which all public and private sector dutyholders can demonstrate to the Building Safety Regulator how they have created and used collaborative processes, relationships and systems in order to improve safety and quality outcomes.

This guidance demonstrates the findings of Dame Judith Hackitt's Independent Review that improved procurement systems which impact on safety can also 'lead to a significant increase in productivity.'. It mirrors the commitment in the government's 2020 Construction Playbook that improved procurement practices will deliver 'better, faster and greener solutions that support our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and build the economy of the future while improving building and workplace safety'.