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Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (No. 2) Order 2009

With the leave of the Committee, I shall speak also to the draft Government of Wales Act 2006 (Consequential Modifications, Transitional Provisions and Saving) Order 2009. This draft order for Welsh Ministers would transfer a range of functions relating to building standards from UK Government Ministers to Welsh Ministers. In particular, it would transfer the power to make building regulations for Wales. The proposed transfer of functions has the approval and support of the Departments for Communities and Local Government, Energy and Climate Change, and Business, Innovation and Skills. The draft order transfers to Welsh Ministers functions of the Secretary of State under the Building Act 1984 and associated legislation. These include the function of making building regulations that set functional performance requirements for building work. Building regulations address a range of health, safety and sustainability issues including structural stability, fire protection, resistance to moisture and contamination, energy and energy efficiency, ventilation, combustion and accessibility. The 1984 Act also confers functions on the Secretary of State in relation to the administration of the regulations, and imposes a duty to establish and maintain a Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) for England and Wales to advise on changes to the regulations.