Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and much of the developed world, public spending grew relatively unchecked until
the financial crisis that commenced around 2008 brought the problem into sharp
focus. Now, many governments are exercising 'austere' cut backs in attempts to
meet the
golden rule
- which, in simple terms, means that governments no longer
allow current spending to exceed current receipts. The golden rule forms a central
plank of government policy and its function will be discussed further in
Chapter 12.
Enforcement Problems
The success of any government policy cannot rely solely on a strong theoretical
argument. Political support, voter appeal and luck are equally important. In
other words, just because a government has carefully debated and passed through
parliament a new policy, launched a publicity campaign or initiated another set of
regulations does not automatically guarantee success.
Rule-based measures, such as regulations, create a whole range of associated
costs. There are the compliance costs of implementing, enforcing and administering
the legislation. For example, the building regulations (or codes) are devised to set
minimum standards, such as how much insulation should be used, what kind of
windows should be fitted and how efficient the heating boiler should be. Yet in
recent history no builder has been prosecuted for non-compliance!
This rather startling fact made news during 2011 when Andrew Stunnell, the
government minister responsible for building regulations, lambasted house builders
for their failure to build to required standards. His comments highlighted the
differences that existed between the predicted and actual energy used in new homes,
drawn from a number of detailed studies. For instance one study of 15 low carbon
homes reported energy losses through the fabric to be around 70 per cent higher
than predicted (Bell et al. 2010). Similar studies throughout the UK suggested gaps
between the measured and predicted heat loss vary considerably, from one case
where the results were actually better than expected by 1 per cent to a significant
number of dwelling were the heat loss was as much as 120 per cent greater than that
predicted by the design specification (GHA 2011). Equivalent problems, but on a
larger scale, are catalogued for commercial buildings by CarbonBuzz (see page 144).
Buildings tested for compliance with ventilation standards also fail to meet the new
requirements. The difference between predicted and actual performance - referred
to as the performance gap - is an increasingly recognised problem. It suggests that
builders cannot keep up with the stringent standards required in construction.
This raises questions about the current system of building control. The system
has become over prescriptive and complex. Building regulations are subject to
frequent revision. However, these regulations specify how to do things, but not
what to achieve; they tend to measure inputs more than outputs. As a government
review entitled
The Future of Building Control
actually acknowledged: 'the system
is not broken but it has some serious failings and weaknesses that must be tackled
if we are to ensure that it remains fit for purpose in today's world and in the future'
(DCLG 2007: 5).
Even where building codes are enforceable, regulations provide little incentive
to be innovative. In fact it has been argued that it is the heavily regulated nature
