Part 2: The Regulator and its functions Plans and reports Section 17: Strategic plan; and Section 18: Revised strategic plans Effect
Section 17 creates a requirement for the Building Safety Regulator to produce a strategic plan specifying how the Building Safety Regulator proposes to carry out its building functions during the period to which the plan applies.
	Given that residents are intended to be at the heart of the new regulatory system, the Building Safety Regulator must consult its residents’ panel on the draft plan (and any other persons it considers appropriate) before seeking approval for the plan from the Secretary of State.
	Once approved by the Secretary of State, the plan must be published and adhered to by the Building Safety Regulator. The first plan must be submitted by the Building Safety Regulator to the Secretary of State for approval as soon as reasonably practicable following the commencement of section 17. A new plan must be submitted to the Secretary of State before the period covered by the existing plan finishes.
	Section 18 provides that a strategic plan may be revised at any time. The Building Safety Regulator may submit a revised plan for the Secretary of State’s approval, or the Secretary of State may require that the Building Safety Regulator submit a revised plan. The revised plan must relate to the remainder of the period to which the current plan relates, or a period that the Secretary of State and the Regulator agree it should apply to. This ensures that should a major new risk to building safety be identified or a major incident occur which could require a change of priorities, the Secretary of State and Building Safety Regulator are able to put in place a revised plan to reflect those priorities.