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Ventilation Saved My Kids
Healthcare professionals need to be better informed about the lifesaving impact of ventilation in homes, according to a headline speaker during the fourth annual World Ventilation Day (WV8D).
Garry Ratcliffe, whose family featured on the BBC’s DIY SOS programme, said his damp and poorly ventilated home was “slowly killing my kids” before it was completely rebuilt and equipped with a customised domestic ventilation system.
Three of Ratcliffe’s four children have complex disabilities and Curly, who was not expected to live beyond the age of one because of his severe cerebral palsy, recently celebrated his 15th birthday.
Speaking at an event organised by the Building Engineering Services Association, Ratcliffe said his son was hospitalised repeatedly with serious respiratory problems until the indoor air quality (IAQ) at home was dramatically improved. He has only had to be admitted three times in the nine years since.
“Ours is a story with a happy ending, but thousands of children are not so lucky,” he told BESA’s Ventil8 Day Exchange at the Building Centre, London. “Healthcare professionals rarely ask about a child’s living conditions even when they present repeatedly with breathing problems, but they should be having a conversation about ventilation.”
Pressure
Wider health and well-being considerations have led to GPs prescribing gym memberships in a bid to relieve the pressure on the NHS, and air quality should be the next focus, Ratcliffe believes.
As CEO of the Golden Thread Alliance of nine primary schools in Kent, he also said there was a role for the education sector. “Many children come in to school sick and not having slept well, so we should also be having that conversation about their living situations.”
He paid tribute to the team at BESA member company Farmwood M&E who developed, installed and continue to monitor the family’s closely controlled ventilation system. He urged the industry to develop more small scale retrofit solutions for homes and schools so “other families can have our happy ending”.
WV8 Day is a global initiative (#WorldVentil8Day) supported by industry bodies, universities, and environmental groups worldwide and takes place on November 8 every year. It aims to raise awareness of the vital role played by ventilation in tackling condensation, overheating, mould and damp in both residential and commercial buildings.
BESA’s ‘Ventil8 Day Exchange’ also featured a call for a public information campaign about the dangers to health posed by poor ventilation standards from the Association’s IAQ Group chair Adam Taylor.
“The UK had successful campaigns in the past for smoke alarms and carbon monoxide, so why not air quality in homes? It is probably because of the speed with which people die, so it is not given the same urgency, despite being responsible for many more deaths and an epidemic of respiratory illness,” said Taylor.
One solution for the UK would be to impose a legally mandated approach to ventilation system maintenance, like the one in place in Sweden, according to Taylor.
The high-profile air quality campaigner Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah CBE also urged the industry to step up its efforts to improve public awareness of available solutions. She called for the industry to put its weight behind a proposed new Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill, dubbed ‘Ella’s Law’ in memory of her nine-year-old daughter who died as a result of air pollution in 2013.
The proposed law has cross-party support and had its second reading in Parliament the day after the BESA event. It is designed to force the UK to adopt new World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality limits by 2030. It also references new research from the Royal College of Physicians, which provided evidence showing air pollution had a detrimental impact on almost every organ in the body.
“We have been talking about this for years, but now is the time for the industry to produce guidance that clearly sets out what people need to do to reduce the risk in their buildings,” said Kissi-Debrah who is honorary president of the BESA IAQ Group."
Frustrated
“People are frustrated by ongoing government inaction but also the lack of clarity about what actions they should take.”
Taylor said it was a source of “huge disappointment” that Part F of the UK building regulations covering ventilation standards was recently updated but referenced out-of-date WHO limits. “We need to lobby hard to get this changed,” he told the World Ventil8 Day exchange event. “Otherwise, this guidance will hold us back for decades.”
The theme of this year’s World Ventil8 Day was ‘Collaborate to Ventilate’ and the BESA event heard repeated calls for the industry to stop working in ‘silos’ and share solutions and best practice. “There is lots of great work going on that people don’t even know about,” said Taylor.
New legislation known as ‘Awaab’s Law’, which came into force on October 27 requiring social landlords to address mould and damp in their properties within 10 days, was welcomed by speakers at the BESA event. However, several pointed out that the law did not address the root causes of these problems – and could end up with ‘sticking plaster’ solutions that still left tenants’ health at risk.
Ian Gregory, chair of BESA’s Ventilation Hygiene group, called for wider and better quality monitoring of IAQ in homes as this would give building occupants a deeper understanding of their living conditions.
“My fear is that Awaab’s Law will lead to more people painting over mould or using bleach to clean it off the walls, which will actually make the problem worse…80-90% of mould is hidden in the fabric of buildings continuing to cause harm.”
For more information about BESA’s ventilation projects and resources visit the website here.
Vent Hygiene Sector Takes up Competence Challenge
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has launched a wide-reaching consultation to establish a framework for defining a route to professional competence in ventilation hygiene.
The consultation, which closes on November 16, will form an integral part of a wider built environment exercise to drive up competence standards and embed best practice in line with safety concerns raised by the Grenfell Tower disaster inquiry.
The catastrophic fire led to a comprehensive review of the building regulations and the implementation of the Building Safety Act leading to a renewed focus on how individuals can demonstrate their skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours (SKEB) and companies their organisational capability, in the face of increasing legal and insurance scrutiny.
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BESA is working with the Industry Competence Steering Group, which has been tasked by the Building Safety Regulator with helping employers in every built environment specialism define and demonstrate competence.
Ventilation hygiene is one of these key specialisms and the Ventilation Hygiene Competence Group (VHCG) was created to lead the development and implementation of competence frameworks for hygiene standards in both air and grease extract systems. The group is made up of employers who spent more than a year developing the draft framework.
Opportunity
They are now asking anyone with an interest in the sector to take this “once in a generation opportunity” to help shape the future of the profession’s skills, competence and compliance.
“There is currently no higher profile issue than how specialist sectors evidence the competence of individuals and companies,” said BESA’s director of competence and compliance Jill Nicholls.
“The Grenfell inquiry brought welcome focus on the need for everyone in our industry to have the right SKEB for the specific tasks they are asked to do in buildings – and be able to prove it. That is why BESA is giving so much time and attention to this consultation,” she added.
“We simply must get this right, so we need everyone with skin in the game to help us shape these frameworks for the benefit of both the industry and the building users that rely on our work.”
The consultation is looking for feedback on the group’s draft framework Managing Competence for Ventilation Hygiene Activities, which proposes a route to validate and revalidate individual competence that could eventually be applied throughout the UK.
The VHCG has put forward recommendations building on existing documentation, such as existing National Occupational Standards (NOS). It has also created a functional map and a framework of competencies, which breaks work down into discrete activities and sets out SKEB standards, in line with the requirements of the new building safety regime.
The statements are also mapped back to other relevant standards and frameworks, and there will be a second phase to tackle competence in surveying and auditing, which is currently out of the scope of this exercise.
The consultation is also seeking views on routes to competence, including requirements for initial and ongoing demonstration of SKEB, validation and periodic revalidation of competence evidence. This includes routes for new entrants and experienced workers.
An implementation plan is also being drafted to help turn “theory into reality” including work towards the detailed training and assessment content that will be needed to underpin sector competence.
Anyone wishing to take part in the consultation can access the relevant documents here and completed forms should be emailed to consultation@thebesa.com by 16th November 2025.
BESA is also hosting a World Ventilation Day event on November 6 in London, which will consider the health, well-being and economic value of better building ventilation – sign up for free here.
BESA Launches Training to Support Heat Network Regime
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has launched the first official training course supporting the government’s Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS). HNTAS will be phased in over time once policy proposals are consulted on and finalised. This is to ensure the sector has sufficient time to understand and take action to comply with the scheme.
BESA Academy is the government appointed ‘shadow training provider’ for the new regulations and has established a training pathway, which is designed to upskill the industry in preparation for the new regulatory regime.
The training was developed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the content designed by BESA Academy which is delivering the course via its online learning platform.
Introduction to Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme is the first in a planned series of courses to support the new regulations and is available free of charge* thanks to the government’s heat training grant scheme. Individuals and organisations are being invited to register now on the BESA Academy’s Online Learning Platform.
“The launch of this training is a major step forward for industry readiness,” said BESA’s director of competence and compliance Jill Nicholls. “HNTAS will become a crucial framework for compliance and performance, and BESA is delighted to be able to deliver the training that will make sure our industry is ready.”
“The future success of this critical low carbon technology depends on having a fully trained, competent workforce. This will also ensure a better experience for heat network end users.”
Mandatory
HNTAS will introduce mandatory minimum technical standards for all GB heat networks designed to improve performance, energy efficiency, reliability, and consumer protection. It also plays a key role in supporting the government’s decarbonisation of heat policy ambitions under the Heat Network Transformation Programme.
The scheme has also been designed to complement the competence requirements established by the Building Safety Act and the Building Regulations, particularly where communal and district systems are part of multi-occupancy developments.
The course introduces HNTAS and explains the rationale behind the scheme. It also covers the structure and elements of heat networks, roles and responsibilities under the new regulations, and how compliance will be assessed and certified. The course focuses on the context of HNTAS and its current state of development.
Although some proposals are liable to change following the Government’s consultation later this year, this course is being made available now due to industry demand. Once proposals have been consulted on, some changes may need to be made to the Introduction to HNTAS course to ensure course content aligns with the finalised policy position. Where required, updated courses highlighting where content has changed will be made available to attendees.
The training is funded* by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and is aimed at developers, consultants, contractors, operators, and local authorities, as well as anyone involved in the planning, design, or operation of heat networks.
“This is a valuable opportunity for individuals and businesses to get a head start by strengthening their knowledge, future-proofing operations, and accessing the commercial opportunities the newly regulated market will create.” said Nicholls.
The government has also agreed a second round of funding for BESA Academy’s Heat Networks 1: Installation and Maintenance Course, which is a comprehensive blend of online theory and hands-on practical training and is designed to meet the rising demand for skilled heat network professionals.
The course, now fully funded* until March 2026, was developed in partnership with the Manufacturers of Equipment for Heat Networks Association (MEHNA) and the Thermal Insulation Contractors’ Association (TICA) to help engineers “upskill and gain cutting-edge knowledge and skills”. It is being delivered at Worcester Bosch and BAXI training centres.
Other Heat Network Courses
BESA Academy also provides a Heat Networks Foundation Course covering design, operation and management of heat networks, providing the trainee with an overall awareness. It is aimed at people already working in the building services industry, either technical or non-technical, who are interested in improving their understanding of the technology.
This introductory course covers basic principles and key components of a heat network including diversified loads, heat interface units (HIUs), water treatment and the basics of thermal insulation for secondary systems.
For more information about all the heat network training courses visit the BESA Academy learning platform.
*Fully Funding: RRP £450 +VAT
If you work in England, you are eligible to access this course completely free of charge.
To receive your discount, simply email us with proof of your employer’s address (for example, a company letterhead of official email signature).
Once verified, we’ll send you a 100% discount code to use at checkout.
This offer is available exclusively to learners employed in England.
Funding is available until 31st March 2026.
This course is hosted by BESA Academy on behalf of DESNZ for the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme.
Visit the BESA website to Find Out More
BESA Welcomes Chance to Solve Late Payment ‘Once And For All’
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has welcomed a new consultation launched by the government as a “once in a generation” opportunity to tackle the ongoing threat to small engineering businesses posed by late payment and retentions.
The consultation, which is part of its wider Small Business Strategy, will seek answers to a problem that has been undermining SMEs in construction-related sectors for decades and continues to force many small specialist engineering firms into insolvency.
The strategy contains legislative and regulatory measures designed to improve payment practices among large companies and a range of other measures to support SME growth. The government is considering proposals to increase transparency and accountability among large firms responsible for paying supply chain partners and the potential abolition of retention payments.
According to a recent Federation of Small Businesses report, 52% of small businesses (around 2.8 million firms), continue to be seriously affected by late payments. Over a quarter admitted they had to rely on expensive short-term financing to plug gaps in their cashflow, and many have been forced to write off late payments as bad debts, due to the time and cost involved in chasing up money owed.
Under draft legislation, the Companies (Directors’ Report Payment Reporting) Regulations 2025, companies with more than 250 employees will be required to disclose their payment performance in their annual reports. This will include data on how long it takes to pay suppliers, and the percentage of payments made within agreed terms.
The aim is to increase transparency and accountability. Currently, payment data is submitted to a government portal, but this is not widely viewed. Embedding payment performance in annual reports instead would make poor practices more visible to clients and potential suppliers.
Audit committees could also be given greater responsibility for overseeing payment practices and holding executive teams to account.
“Today’s policy announcement and consultation confirms that the government understands the need for reform backed by legislation and that the industry must make the necessary changes to its payment culture,” said BESA’s Legal and Commercial Director Debbie Petford.
“We have been waiting a long time for proper late payment legislation backed up by real enforcement. We encourage companies from across the engineering services sector to take this once in a generation opportunity to put forward their solutions and help lay the foundations for a future business environment in which they can thrive – not just survive.”
She added that a succession of ‘voluntary’ pledges on late and unfair payment over the years had not helped the cause of sub-contractors struggling to claim fair payment “for work they have completed in good faith”.
“The collapse of ISG last year demonstrated just how vulnerable small contractors are to insolvencies further up the supply chain. Too many perfectly good businesses have been lost because they have been denied the lifeblood of healthy cash flow,” said Petford.
“This consultation is the opportunity we have been calling for to address this blight on our industry once and for all.”
BESA said it would be contacting its members to explain how they can take part in the consultation.
BESA members can also access expert advice and support from the Association’s legal team on all payment, contract conditions and insolvency matters here.
Companies Warned Not to ‘Fake’ Diversity
Built environment firms shouldn’t do anything about improving the diversity of their workforces if they don’t truly believe in it, according to a leading construction industry diversity champion.
Amos Simbo OBE told the latest edition of the ‘Behind the Built Environment’ podcast that firms would be better off doing nothing if they were just responding to pressure from their clients.
“If you're faking it rather than actually doing it, you're just wasting your time,” said Simbo, founder of the Black Professionals in Construction (BPIC) network. “You might as well use your resources properly because what's the point of investing in something and then just going halfway?”
Simbo told podcast host David Frise, CEO of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), that companies who only acted on diversity because their clients forced them into it would not see any benefit.
“[Then] what will happen…companies would employ people, but they're just not empowered to do anything. So…you're [just] wasting money on employing those people. In that case, it would be better to do nothing at all because you won’t get anything out of it.
“For companies of all sizes, authenticity matters…so go all in, make it real. Inclusion isn’t a trend; it’s good business,” he added. “And even if you don't want to go all out, try and do the bare minimum properly, at least. Then you can say, you know what, we're not doing everything, we're just doing this, but we're doing it properly…we’re committing.”
Success Stories
Currently, just 7% of workers in construction and related fields are from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community in the UK even though it accounts for more than 18% of the overall population. Simbo told the podcast that people from BAME backgrounds were often unaware of the industry and the opportunities available. Also, they don’t see “success stories” from their own communities.
“People are well paid in this sector, but people don't know about it. So, that's one element of education. But then some of the reasons why people wouldn't know about it is [because of] where they're from. Perhaps there aren’t any success stories [from their community].”
A shortage of mentors and role models also leads to more people from those backgrounds being encouraged by their parents to become doctors or lawyers instead, Simbo added.
“[They don’t see] people progressing, and then they end up leaving. So, you're losing a lot of leaders, losing a lot of role models. This is such a people-oriented industry, but you often end up with people [staying] in their groups and cliques.”
He also said there was a misconception that inclusivity was “a competitive issue” with winners and losers, but everyone should gain. “Diversity and inclusion should not be to the detriment of something else. It’s about inclusion not exclusion to make space for others. It’s not a competitive thing,” he told Frise.
Simbo, who is also managing director of the independent construction consultancy Winway Group, said a more inclusive approach should lead to greater innovation, business growth and staff retention. He added that companies also needed to be wary of getting sucked into the political debate around the issue, particularly with the current climate in the US where President Donald Trump is waging war on the ‘woke agenda’.
He said this was putting businesses in a difficult position because many want to be inclusive but are being told they could lose government contracts. “But what happens if there is a change of government…you can’t just go back and say ‘we care now’.”
Instead, he urged employers to make their business a place where “[all] people feel welcome, and talent can thrive,” said Simbo. “We focus on ethnic minority inclusion, but [it] should be for everyone – women, older people. It makes a good business and makes good business sense and that translates into growth, people retention – values come first and then growth comes from that.”
Talent
He said the message of the BPIC network was that construction was an industry for everyone. It is a hub that aims to help employers improve their inclusivity and gain access to talent. It offers advice and examples of best practice for attracting diverse talent and provides opportunities for ethnic minorities to access the industry and its related sectors.
Simbo said addressing the low participation of the BAME community was part of the wider government-led drive to grow the number of skilled people in construction. BPIC works with a range of training providers and has launched its own skills academy to help improve opportunities for ethnic minorities.
BESA is also addressing this challenge through its online Academy and is recognising employers who champion inclusion, break down barriers and are working to create a more diverse and equitable industry through its industry awards programme.
For more information and to enter the ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ category at the BESA Industry Awards 2025 visit the website here.
BESA Sets Ambitious Growth Target For 2025 Awards
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has launched its Industry Awards 2025 adding ten new categories and giving the programme a completely new look and feel.
Entries are now open for the 28 categories and the Association said it was aiming to increase participation by 25% despite hitting a record 101 entries in 2024.
The BESA Awards are sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric and designed to recognise and reward the achievements of individuals, teams, and organisations that have significantly contributed to the development of the building services sector in the last 12 months.
The deadline for entries is July 4 and the awards ceremony returns to the historic Brewery, Chiswell Street, London for the second year in a row on October 16 following the BESA Annual Conference at the same venue earlier in the day.
Some awards are exclusively for BESA members, but many are open to the whole sector to ensure the programme reflects the full breadth of building services expertise, innovation and talent. They are free to enter and include awards for outstanding projects and firms as well as individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for the greater good of the industry.
Categories
New categories for this year include Offsite Project of the Year, Excellence in Commissioning, a REFCOM Environmental Excellence award, Service and Maintenance Contractor of the Year and Ventilation Hygiene Contractor of the Year.
There are also new Contractor of the Year awards for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England, alongside an overall National Contractor of the Year award, which is sponsored by Groupe Atlantic.
As usual, the BESA Awards celebrate and champion the emerging generation with a range of categories aimed at young engineers and apprentices. This year each nominated apprentice will be asked to complete a 45-minute online test.
An expert panel of judges chaired by BESA technical director Kevin Morrissey has been assembled and expanded to take on the additional workload created by the new categories.
“We are extremely excited about this year’s awards,” said BESA’s group events manager Charlie Ward. “Following the success of last year’s event, which attracted more than 400 guests, we are looking forward to growing even further and cementing the BESA Awards as one of the top celebrations in the industry’s calendar.”
For a full list of categories and to enter click here. Closing date for entries is July 4.
There are also several sponsorship opportunities still available. For more details please email: awards@theBESA.com
BESA Announces 2024 Award Winners
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) unveiled the winners and highly commended in its record breaking 2024 Industry Awards during a sparkling dinner at London’s historic Brewery, Chiswell Street.
Outstanding businesses and individuals were recognised across 14 awards categories covering innovative projects, products and initiatives supported by a new record of over 100 entries.
More than 450 industry figures attended the awards dinner sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric which followed the Association’s Annual Conference at the same venue earlier in the day. The event was hosted by celebrity compere Tom Ward and supported by CIBSE and the Installer Show.
There was a special presentation in memory of Skanska’s Rob Lambert who died earlier this year having been a long-standing and much respected member of BESA’s technical committee.
The President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement went to Dave Kieft of EFT Consult for his pioneering work on driving the UK’s first technical standard for health & wellbeing in buildings.
BESA’s first Rising Star award was presented to the incoming chair of its NextGen Network Ibrahim Qadir from Vital Energi reflecting the Association’s ongoing commitment to support emerging talent and the next generation of building services engineers.
Several other new categories were introduced for 2024 including Retrofit Project of the Year to reflect the growing focus on refurbishment of existing buildings to meet net zero targets and improve occupant health and well-being.
The increased focus on training and skills led to the first Training Provider of the Year Award for BESA’s training partners. A new Competence and Compliance category also celebrated the growing focus on raising professional standards and helping building engineering firms prove their ability to comply with increasingly stringent legislation.
The awards categories covered the full supply chain from manufacturers and distributors through to contractors, engineers, and clients, and reflected the industry’s efforts to get to grips with some of society’s biggest issues like building safety, indoor air quality, and diversity.
Full details of the winners of the BESA’s Industry Awards 2024 can be found online here.
BESA Supports Findings of Grenfell Tower Report
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has welcomed the publication of the final report into the Grenfell Tower tragedy saying that it should add greater urgency to promised reforms of the construction industry and related engineering disciplines.
The Association added that the report should serve as a further reminder of the serious and wide-reaching impact of the disaster. It also paid tribute to those who lost their lives and said it was important to recognise the continued impact on residents and the immediate community.