Catalogue description Ministry of Public Building and Works: Building Licensing Files (BL Series)

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Details of WORK 74
Reference: WORK 74
Title: Ministry of Public Building and Works: Building Licensing Files (BL Series)
Description:

This series contains files of the Ministry of Public Building and Works relating to the scope and operation of the building licensing system and associated contravention procedures introduced by the Building Control Act 1966.

The BL file series was raised to accommodate papers relating to the Building Control Act 1966 and continued until 1968. Files from the RE series (WORK 45) have been re-registered into this series.
Date: 1965-1969
Arrangement:

Files in this series have been transferred in one batch and are arranged in previous reference order.
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: BL file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Physical description: 5 file(s)
Access conditions: Subject to 30 year closure
Administrative / biographical background:

The Ministry of Public Building and Works was responsible for control of the building licensing system from 1965 to 1967. From 1967 to 1968 this function was carried out by the Building Control Section of the Directorate of Economic Intelligence in the Directorate General of Research and Development.

The Building Control Act 1966 prohibited new construction work costing over £50,000 (the limit was later raised to £100,000) without a licence issued by the Ministry of Public Building and Works. The aim was to ensure that a limited building capability was not "wasted" on non-essential building projects. However, by 1968 capacity had outstripped demand, and in May of that year an order revoking the Act was made.

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