Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of building control inspection arrangements in securing compliance with Part H of the Building Regulations 2010 in respect of foul and surface water drainage connections.

No specific assessments have been made of the effectiveness of building control inspection arrangements in securing compliance with Part H of the Building Regulations 2010 in respect of foul and surface water drainage connections. The Building Control Independent Panel (BCIP) made several recommendations to the Government on how to improve the building control process, including regarding mandatory inspection points, and the Government intends to a provide a full response to the list of recommendations made in the BCIP final report in due course. We have already made £55 million available to support the building of capacity in the building control workforce. My officials are taking steps to assess the effectiveness of the pre-application process, the approved plans process, and the effectiveness of building control inspections for ensuring compliance with Part H, as well as investigating the effectiveness of s.59 of the Building Act 1984. It is important to note that responsibility for compliance with the building regulations remains with the person carrying out building work, even where a completion or final certificate has been provided.