Terms of reference
Explains the Building Regulations Advisory Committee's responsibilities and how it will work.
The Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) was originally established in 1962 under Section 9 of the Public Health Act 1961 – now superseded by Section 14 of the Building Act 1984 – to advise the appropriate Secretary of State on the exercise of their power to make building regulations, and on other related matters in England and Wales.
The Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (No 2) Order 2009 (the TFO) transfers the Secretary of State’s power under the Act (with some exceptions) to the Welsh Ministers with effect from 31 December 2011. Under section 14(5) of the Act (as amended by the TFO) THE Welsh Ministers will have a duty to appoint a Building Regulations Advisory Committee for Wales for the purpose of advising the Welsh Ministers on the exercise of their power to make building regulations and on other subjects connected with building regulations.
The Welsh Ministers will therefore have a statutory obligation to appoint a BRACW and to consult the Committee (and other relevant bodies) for its advice before making any building regulations containing substantive requirements. In practice, BRACW will be used by the Welsh Ministers as a sounding board on a wide range of building regulations and other related issues.
BRACW is designated as a Scientific Advisory Committee under the Government’s Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees 2001.