The UK Government has committed to a number of recommendations in its latest progress report, including a new permanent chief construction advisor by 2026, as it follows up on last year’s public inquiry into the events surrounding the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy in which 72 people died in a high-rise fire.
The recent publication of the Progress report: the construction industry addressed recommendations issued in the final report last September, six years after the inquiry began.
Examining how Grenfell came to be in a condition which allowed the fire to spread so rapidly, the report called for a new construction regulator, headed by a single independent body, as well as chief construction adviser, both of which report to a single Secretary of State.
The recommendation of a chief construction adviser on ‘all matters affecting the construction industry’ has been confirmed to be due to take up the role on a permanent basis by 2026.
The government also advised an interim chief construction adviser would take up the role for a fixed period initially this summer, in order to work on priority areas, such as the design and implementation of the single regulator.
“We will appoint a chief construction adviser to advise the Secretary of State, to monitor the department’s work relating to the building regulations, statutory guidance and the construction industry more generally,” it said.
“[As well as] to bring industry together and hold it to account to help design and deliver the progress we must make together to realise effective reform and culture change.”
Implementing a single construction regulator is already underway and, in conjunction with industry, residents, regulators and experts, it will provide ‘a more coherent regulatory system capable of restoring trust in the building system is underway’, the report stated.
The single regulator will deliver the functions specified in the report with two exceptions.
“We do not believe it is appropriate for the single regulator to undertake testing and certification of construction products, or issue certificates of compliance, as this would create a new conflict of interest within the regulator,” it states.
“Instead, we will strengthen oversight of Conformity Assessment Bodies through reforms to the construction products regime.”
Its work will inform a Regulation of the Built Environment Prospectus published later this year that will lead to the necessary legislation to establish it.
Another progress report on the implementation of the inquiry recommendations is due in September.
The Grenfell disaster
The Grenfell Tower disaster highlighted the failings of the state and the construction industry with regards to the safety of building materials, in particular cladding used on the 24-storey residential tower in North Kensington, West London which was engulfed in fire on 14 June, 2017. The building fire was later found to be caused by an electrical fault in a large fridge-freezer in a flat kitchen, which spread quickly owing to combustible insulation, cladding and filler used throughout the existing concrete structure as well as poor installation techniques. The fire claimed the lives of 72 people, with dozens more injured. It was one of the deadliest structural fires in British history, burning for around 60 hours.
The final report, featuring recommendations in 2024, was published six years after the inquiry began and examined how Grenfell came to be in a condition which allowed the fire to spread so rapidly. Since the disaster, legal enforcements have been introduced to make building owners fix serious fire safety issues including building remediation orders under the Building Safety Act 2022.
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