At last, as a result of the scadal following Grenfell, from the 3/7/23, HMG have enacted the 'Responsible Actors Scheme' (RAS). This rewards developers and building contractors who have helped or paid for works or repairs to residential buildings in relation to fire safety issues and penalises those who havent.

If a builder complies with certain criteria, they will be eligible for major contracts . If not, they wont get planning permission. I am not convinced the scheme will work as big business will find a way around it

But I was wondering if anyone can point me towards a database of those building contractors who are on the RAS database?

I want to propose to my employer that we boycot any company not on the scheme when we are awarding contracts for non residential building work in line with my employers views on ethical trading  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/753/pdfs/uksiem_20230753_en_001.pdf

Construction black lists - do we ever learn from history?

BTW are you sure it is planning permission - I thought it was being unable to bid for governmment contracts.

Then you have to consider that some of those big firms you think are "ethical" are currently assembling teams to recover any monies they have paid from others further down the supply chain - it won't be polite requests to contribute.

Hi Messey

Not clear what sorts of construction projects you might be putting out to tender but even for the largest it is likely that only a tiny fraction of those who might be in the frame would be such as to be eligible for this particular UnBlack list.

Many Contractors have chosen to either keep out of the housing market or to carefully delineate which part of their overall business does what such that for years and years you might get ABC Construction and ABC Homes as a separate entity - often with the Construction arm generally being good on H&S and the housing arm being lousy.

One such ABC Homes that comes to mind went further and built houses with a different entity at each site, so you got ABC Homes (Glasgow) Ltd, ABC Homes (Merseyside) Ltd, ABC (Grand Metropolis) Ltd and so on, except that most of the locations would be ones that only those nearby would recognise! Really good for the accident statistics as each site would start from zero; even better as each site would only employ a Site Agent, General Foreman and just possibly a couple of General Labourers so very few DIRECT employees to hurt and end up on the accident statistics.

Further as you suggest there are likely to be ways that Contractors will get around the rules, though one feature highlighted in the Explanatory Memorandum to which you linked that any prohibition would extend not only to "Actors" not deemed "Responsible" but also to some of those humans in control of the "Actors".

Which at least puts some sort of barrier in the way of XYZ Homes Ltd and its controlling minds refusing to cough up on dangerous high rises that they have built, so put on the Black List, so controlling minds shut down the company, take the money off to some offshore tax haven only to return to plough it in to buy up some "Responsible Actor".