The Government has set out plans to make it easier for builders to understand what standards are expected of them and to ensure buildings comply with high standards of safety and sustainability.

The measures were set out in Communities and Local Government's Future of Building Control Implementation Plan.

Building Regulations Minister Lord McKenzie said: "These changes help us to tackle long term challenges. A growing population and the need to tackle climate change mean we need to build more homes, and to ever higher standards of safety and sustainability. These improvements to the building control process mean that the high standards we set on paper are also delivered on the ground, and with all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016 this is an essential step."

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The measures also cut red tape and support builders through the recession by giving councils greater freedoms to let responsible builders get on with the job and to focus instead on builders with a history of shoddy work.

At present builders have to contact their building control inspector up to nine times during each construction project, irrespective of its size and complexity. A new approach is being developed which will allow councils and private building control bodies to focus their attention on the highest risk projects and therefore reduce the number of inspections required for simpler projects.

Paul Timmins, Chair of the Building Control Alliance, said: "The Implementation Plan sets out a very positive and structured vision of the Building Control Service and the Building Regulations for the future. The Building Control Alliance, representing the Building Control profession, is fully committed to support all areas of the proposed plan, in particular to improve upon the valuable outputs that the service currently offers and new challenges for the future."

(CD/KMcA)