Schedule 2: Authorised officers: investigatory powers Offence of failing to provide information, documents etc Background
This offence will be triable either way to deter non-compliance with the Building Safety Regulator and to reflect the gravity of the offence. The Building Safety Regulator requires relevant information to operate effectively and this must be complied with to fulfil that purpose.
Example
The Building Safety Regulator decides to conduct a review of the management of an occupied, higher-risk building. In order to prepare for a site visit to check the building’s physical compliance with the requirements of the new regime, an authorised officer requests to see various documents including the latest building safety risk assessment. The documents are not provided. The authorised officer then issues a notice under paragraph 4 of Schedule 2, requiring the Accountable Person to submit copies of the documents. The Accountable Person, not wishing to show the Building Safety Regulator that it has not been keeping up to date with its requirements, does not send anything to the Building Safety Regulator. In response, the Building Safety Regulator could carry out a search using its powers in paragraphs 1-2 of Schedule 2 to search for the documentation, which could result in the issue of a compliance notice requiring the documentation to be updated by a set date. Alternatively, or in addition, for example where documentation has not been produced previously by that authorised person, the Building Safety Regulator could launch a prosecution for this offence.