Part 4: Higher-risk buildings Miscellaneous and general Section 109: Cooperation and coordination Background
This is a new provision.
Example
Higher-risk buildings are often mixed use, owned and managed by more than one entity, and include commercial areas that are not for residential use, such as shops, gyms, restaurants etc. There are many different ownership models, many of them complex with different bodies responsible for managing the same or similar risks within different part of the building or its structure, such as roofs or individual floors.
To support the "whole building" approach set out in the Independent Review, this section requires Accountable Persons and Responsible Persons under the Fire Safety Order to work together to share relevant fire safety information.
The duty on Accountable Persons to cooperate with each other is crucial to the success of the regime in, for instance, running a single Residents’ Engagement Strategy for the whole building and enabling the golden thread to operate effectively.
The Accountable Person and Responsible Person should proactively share the results of their risk assessments, including providing an overview of the risks and safety measures that are in place to control the identified risks. The Accountable Person should factor these results into their own decision making and ensure that the safety arrangements they have are suitable for controlling any additional risks that may arise from a part of the building which is out of their direct responsibility. Furthermore, both the Accountable Person and Responsible Person are dutybound to ensure that their safety arrangements do not have the effect of rendering the others’ arrangements ineffective.