Part 2: The Regulator and its functions Supplementary and general Section 27 (and Schedule 3): Cooperation and information sharing Background
This section and Schedule 3 are new provisions.
	The duties to cooperate and powers to share information set out in section 27 and Schedule 3 are designed to foster a culture of joint working between the Building Safety Regulator and other regulators and enforcement bodies operating in the same regulatory landscape (with functions relevant to building standards and safety), to support one another to discharge their statutory functions effectively.
	Schedule 3 paragraph 4 is specifically designed to make it easier for residents to have their safety concerns addressed effectively and help improve complaints handling for residents of all tenures by making sure that complaints quickly get to the right organisation for consideration and action.
Example 1: Local authorities and the Building Safety Regulator
During the course of a local authority environmental health team’s inspection, the team identify a building safety risk in connection with a higher-risk building. Relying on the duty to cooperate and the power to share information, the local authority shares information about the risk with the Building Safety Regulator, and they work together to ensure appropriate action is taken to manage and mitigate the risk identified, using whichever organisation’s expertise and powers are best suited to resolving the issue.
Example 2: Fire and rescue authorities and the Building Safety Regulator
A fire and rescue authority identifies a breach of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005, which indicates the potential for a similar breach in the new regulatory regime in relation to occupation of a higher-risk building. Relying on the duty to cooperate and the power to share information, the fire and rescue authority shares information about the issue with the Building Safety Regulator and the two organisations work together to ensure appropriate action is taken to deal with the breach and mitigate any risk to safety, using whichever organisation’s expertise and powers are best suited to resolving this issue.
Example 3: Ombudsman and the Building Safety Regulator
A resident of a higher-risk building in the social sector has an urgent safety concern about a faulty fire alarm system that their Accountable Person has not resolved. They do not realise that this should be escalated to the Building Safety Regulator for consideration and investigation and send the complaint to an Ombudsman by accident. The duty of cooperation is designed to make sure that in such a case the ombudsman on receipt will quickly redirect the complaint and the supporting information to the Building Safety Regulator for consideration and work together with them if there are other aspects to the complaint that are appropriate for the Ombudsman to consider.