Final report sets out plan to consolidate responsibility for industry in one centralised regulator reporting to a single government minister
Decades of government failure, a slapdash construction culture and the dishonesty of building product manufacturers combined to kill 72 people on 14 June 2017.
This is the conclusion of the Phase 2 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published this morning, which set out to determine the causes of the disaster and the role of construction firms, product manufacturers, government policy and others in its inception.
In its own words, the question the inquiry sought to answer was this: “How was it possible in 21st century London for a reinforced building, itself structurally impervious to fire, to be turned into a death trap that would enable fire o sweep through it in an uncontrollable way in a matter of a few hours despite what were thought to be effective regulations designed to prevent just such an event?”
While inquiry chair Martin Moore-Bick and his colleagues, the architect Thouria Istephan and housing expert Ali Akbor, found “no simple answer” to that question, their report, which spans seven volumes and runs to more than 1,600 pages, found no shortage of culpable actors.
In the run-up to its publication, the inquiry’s solicitors wrote to a total of 247 individuals and organisations to inform them of criticisms it was minded to make.
In government, the inquiry slammed “decades of failure” to look carefully at the dangers of combustible materials and take action.
Looking at the 2015/2016 refurbishment project which led to the installation of combustible cladding on the tower, it found carelessness and incompetence across the professional team, and said similar poor practice was likely “widespread” in the construction industry at the time.
But perhaps its most damning indictment came in the section on the manufacturers of the rainscreen cladding panels and insulation products, who were accused of “systematic dishonesty” in the way they had tested and marketed their products.
What consequences will come to those with responsibility for the disaster remains to be seen.
In accordance with the Inquiries Act 2005, the inquiry panel was prohibited from ruling on questions of legal liability, although the statute also provides that inquiries are “not to be inhibited in the discharge of our functions by any likelihood of liability being inferred from any facts we find or recommendations we make”.
For their part, the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service have already said that charges are unlikely to be brought until late 2026.
In the meantime, the sweeping recommendations for reform set out in the final section of Moore-Bick’s report will be its most significant legacy - if the government chooses to implement them.
While it acknowledged that actions had already been taken by government to “cure many of the more glaring defects in the system”, it nonetheless made a number of major recommendations for further reform.
Perhaps the most consequential recommendation is to create a single construction regulator, endowed with vast oversight, which would report to a single secretary of state responsible for fire safety.
The inquiry took the view that, over the course of time, regulation of the construction industry had become “too complex and fragmented”.
It wants to see a range of functions - including the regulation and testing of construction products, licensing of contractors for work on higher risk buildings and accreditation of fire risk assessors - to be brought under the remit of a new, single independent body, headed by an individual construction regulator.
The full list of responsibilities intended for the proposed regulator
- Regulation of construction products
- Development of suitable methods for testing the reaction to fire of materials and products intended for use in construction
- The testing and certification of such products
- The issue of certificates of compliance of construction products with the requirements of legislation, statutory guidance and industry standards
- The regulation and oversight of building control
- The licensing of contractors to work on higher risk buildings
- Monitoring the operation of the Building regulations and the statutory guidance and advising the secretary of state on the need for change
- Carrying out research on matters affecting fire safety in the built environment
- Collecting information, both in this country and abroad on matters affecting fire safety
- Exchanging information with the fire and rescue services on matters affecting fire safety
- Accrediting fire risk assessors
- Maintaining a publicly available library of test data and publications
It said the establishment of such a body would create “a focal point in driving a much-needed change” in the culture of the construction industry.
“It would enable information to be shared effectively between those responsible for different aspects of the industry and promote the exchange of ideas,” it said.
While the inquiry noted the creation of a Building Safety Regulator in the aftermath of the disaster, it took the view that this body fell short of what was necessary to draw together responsibility for the “dispersed” set of functions relating to the construction industry.
Its proposed regulator would report to a single secretary of state, with all functions relating to fire safety brought under this minister’s purview. Currently these functions are divided across the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Home Office and the Department for Business and trade.
This consolidation, the report said, would provide an environment in which “information can be shared more quickly and more effectively” and ensure that policy is developed “in an holistic and coherent way”.
The inquiry said a minister with such significant responsibilities relating to construction would “need to be able to turn for advice to someone who has a good working knowledge and practical experience of the construction industry” and suggested the appointment of a chief construction adviser “with a sufficient budget and staff to provide advice on all matters affecting the construction industry”.
This individual’s responsibilities would include: monitoring all aspects of the department’s work relating to the Building Regulations and statutory guidance; providing advice the secretary of state on request; and bringing to the attention of the secretary of state any matters affecting the Building Regulations and statutory guidance or matters affecting the construction industry more generally of which the government should be aware.
The report also suggested an urgent review of the definition of a higher-risk building for the purposes of the Building Safety Act.
Currently, a building is considered higher-risk if it is at least 18m in height or if it has at least seven stories and contains at least two residential units.
The inquiry said that defining buildings as higher risk by reference to height alone was “essentially arbitrary in nature” and therefore unsatisfactory.
“More relevant is that nature of its use and, in particular, the likely presence of vulnerable people for whom evacuation in the event of a fire or other emergency would likely to present difficulty,” it added.
Further recommendations made in the report
- “It be made a statutory requirement that a fire safety strategy produced by a registered fire engineer to be submitted with building control applications (at Gateway 2) for the construction or refurbishment of any higher-risk building and for it to be reviewed and re-submitted at the stage of completion (Gateway 3)”
- “That steps be taken in conjunction with the professional and academic community to develop new [fire performance] test methods that will provide the information needed for such assessments to be carried out reliably”
- “That BS9414 should be approached with caution […] and that the government make it clear that it should not be used as a substitute for an assessment by a suitably qualified fire engineer”
- “The construction regulator should be responsible for assessing the conformity of construction products with the requirements of legislation, statutory guidance and industry standards and issuing certificates as appropriate. We should expect such certificates to become pre-eminent in the market”
- “That copies of all test results supporting any certificate [for products] issued by the construction regulator be included in the certificate; that manufacturers be required to provide the construction regulator with the full testing history of the product or material to which the certificate relates and inform the regulator of any material circumstances that may affect its performance; and manufacturers be required by law to provide on request copies of all test results that support claims about fire performance made for their products”
- “That the profession of fire engineer be recognised and protected by law and that an independent body be established to regulate the profession, define the standards required for membership, maintain a register of members and regulate their conduct.”
- “That the government take urgent steps to increase the number of places on high-quality masters level courses in fire engineering accredited by the professional regulator”
- Pending the creation of the new construction regulator, the government should “convene a group of practitioner and academic fire engineers and such other professionals as it thinks fit to produce an authoritative statement of the knowledge and skills to be expected of a competent fire engineer”
- “That the government, working in collaboration with industry and professional bodies, encourage the development of courses in the principles of fire engineering for construction professionals […] as part of their continuing professional development”
- “That it be made a statutory requirement that an application for building control approval in relation to the construction or refurbishment of a higher-risk building (Gateway 2) be supported by a statement from a senior manager of the principal designer under the Building Safety Act 2022 that all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that on completion the building as designed will be as safe as is required by the Building Regulations”
- “That a licensing scheme operated by the construction regulator be introduced for principal contractors wishing to undertake the construction or refurbishment of higher-risk buildings and that it be a legal requirement that any application for building control approval for the construction or refurbishment of a higher-risk building (Gateway 2) be supported by a personal undertaking from a director or senior manager of the principal contractor to take all reasonable care to ensure that on completion and handover the building is as safe as is required by the Building Regulations”
- “That the government appoint an independent panel to consider whether it is in the public interest for building control functions to be performed by those who have a commercial interest in the process” and “that the same panel consider whether all building control functions should be performed by a national authority”
- “That the construction regulator sponsor the development of a […] library” similar to the Cladding Materials Library set up by the University of Queensland, “to provide a continuing resource for designers”
- “That the government establish a system of mandatory accreditation to certify the competence of fire risk assessors by setting standards for qualification and continuing professional development and such other measures as may be considered necessary or desirable”.
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