Criminal culpability for failure to adhere to building regulations may be the push industry needs for a culture shift, RIBA executive director Adrian Dobson has said.

The construction industry needed a push to change its approach to complying with regulations, he told the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s first follow-up session on Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations this week.

Hackitt’s report, which looked to move away from prescriptive regulations, suggested the onus should be placed on industry to ensure compliance.

Dobson said: “I think we do need a prod. We are a very fragmented industry. We’ve got very low margins in many branches of the industry and quite a lot of risk pushed down the supply chain.

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