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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 25 September (HL1605), whether the Building Control Department of a local authority would be deemed an independent scrutiny body when signing off work carried out by contractors working for that same local authority.

The Building Act 1984 requires local authorities to carry out the building control function unless the person carrying out the building work has chosen to employ an approved inspector as the building control body. A local authority may act as the building control body in respect of work being carried out by or on behalf of the same local authority.

Local authorities are required by the Building Regulations 2010 to take all reasonable steps to be satisfied that building work complies with all applicable requirements in the Building Regulations whoever is carrying out the building work. The Government has published a set of Building Control Performance Standards to provide guidance to building control bodies on how to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.