The construction products industry faces significant changes in the coming months and years ahead. The Grenfell Inquiry highlighted shortcomings in the sector with regards to building safety and regulatory changes are now on the horizon to make those shortcomings a thing of the past. The Building Safety Act is perhaps the most significant of these. Although primary legislation came in last year, the secondary legislation expected soon will be significant for manufacturers.

The changes do not end there. DLUHC’s new Recovery Strategy Unit (run by former Special Forces Commando Colonel Robert Graham Cundy) is already pursuing product manufacturers who have failed to contribute to fixing building safety issues. The Grenfell Inquiry Report (expected at the end of the year) will no doubt bring increased media scrutiny and potential criminal prosecutions. The industry also must also get to grips with the new Building Safety Regulator (part of HSE) and the Construction Products Regulator (part of the OPSS).

The CPA also welcomes the recently published Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime from Paul Morrell and Anneliese Day KC. It is required reading for policy-makers and industry leaders alike, coming at a critical time not only for the future of the UK product testing and certification sector, but for the wider culture and practices of UK construction as well.

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