SCI advise on Industry Guidance

After being asked to advise the Government on the correct guidance relating to the imminent release of the Eurocodes, the Department for Communities and Local Government have issued a circular letter to control authorities.

The letter attempts to clarify the situation in which Part A of the Building Regulations as they apply to England and Wales will not now be updated until 2013. This created an anomaly in relation to the cross referencing of ‘Deemed to Satisfy’ National Standards.

In the advisory panel, the British Standards Institute (BSI) clarified the situation regarding what the ‘withdrawn’ status of BS 5950 (and the other former national standards) is or will be as of the 1st April 2010.

As of that date our National Standards for structural design are formally the Eurocodes. Designers do not have to use these or any of the standards to progress design. However the BSI provides technical support only for The National Standards and support for previous equivalent national standards has been withdrawn.

For further information, please click on the link below:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/divletterdesignstandards