Peter Baker
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced the appointment of a chief inspector of buildings to establish and lead the new Building Safety Regulator.
Peter Baker, HSE’s current director of building safety and construction, will head up the Building Safety Regulator to deliver the new regime for high-risk buildings, oversee work to increase the competence of professionals working on buildings, and ensure effective oversight of the building safety environment. He will also be the first head of the building control profession, and lead the work to give independent, expert advice on building safety to industry, government, landlords and residents.
The government asked HSE to establish a new Building Safety Regulator in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, and following recommendations in Dame Judith Hackitt’s Building a Safer Future report. Baker said: ‘I am honoured for the opportunity to play a lead role in bringing about the biggest change in building safety for a generation.’
Baker has more than 30 years’ experience with HSE, as an inspector and in senior operational posts, including chief inspector of construction. Since 2017, he has led HSE’s involvement in the government’s building safety programme.
CIBSE said: ‘This is a key appointment in the drive to transform the construction sector and to prevent anything like the Grenfell Tower tragedy from ever happening again.’
