Government Pledges ‘Tough’ Reforms in Response to Grenfell Inquiry

IN ITS response to the Grenfell Inquiry’s final report today (26 February), the government has said it plans to act on all 58 of the inquiry’s recommendations.

“Tough” new reforms will be introduced to ensure all homes are safe, secure and built to the highest standards.

Under the proposals, the government says industry will be held to account for failure, with new regulatory measures to prevent another tragedy like the Grenfell Tower fire from happening again.

‘Tough’ Reforms

The reforms set out today include:

• A new single construction regulator to ensure those responsible for building safety are held to account.
• Tougher oversight of those responsible for testing and certifying, manufacturing and using construction products with serious consequences for those who break the rules.
• A legal duty of candour through a new Hillsborough Law, compelling public authorities to disclose the truth, ensuring transparency in major incidents, and holding those responsible for failures to account.
• Stronger, clearer, and enforceable legal rights for residents, making landlords responsible for acting on safety concerns.
• Empowering social housing residents to challenge landlords and demand safe, high-quality housing, by expanding the Four Million Homes training programme. Make it easier for tenants to report safety concerns and secure landlord action by taking forward the Make Things Right campaign.

As well as changes in regulation, in December 2024, the government launched its Remediation Acceleration Plan which sets out new measures to get buildings fixed quicker and hold freeholders to account.

Supplier Accountability

The government also announced investigations will be launched into seven organisations criticised in the report using new procurement powers.

If certain grounds are met, their names will be added to a published debartment list excluding them from public sector contracts.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “The Grenfell Tower tragedy claimed 72 innocent lives in a disaster that should never have happened. The final report exposed in stark and devastating detail the shocking industry behaviour and wider failures that led to the fire, and the deep injustices endured by the bereaved, survivors, and residents.

“We are acting on all of the Inquiry’s findings, and today set out our full response, detailing the tough action we are taking to drive change and reform the system to ensure no community will ever have to face a tragedy like Grenfell ever again.

“That means greater accountability, stronger regulation, and putting residents at the heart of decision-making. We must deliver the fundamental change required. We owe that to the Grenfell community, to the country, and to the memory of those who lost their lives.

“The Grenfell Inquiry’s final report exposed a system that ignored safety risks and failed to listen to residents. The report laid bare ‘systemic dishonesty’ in the industry, failures in the construction sector and by successive governments, and poor regulation in the run up to the disaster.

“The government has apologised on behalf of the British state for its part in these failings and introduced significant changes to fix the worst issues exposed by the tragedy.”

INDUSTRY COMMENT

Raise Professional Standards

The National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) urges that action is taken to support all responsible specialist contractors in the delivery of high-quality buildings.

“We commend the government’s commitment to preventing another tragedy like Grenfell,” said James Talman, CEO of NFRC. “Following the Hackitt Review, we along with other associations, have and continue to support work on demonstrating and improving competency and standards across organisations and occupations in our respective specialist sectors. However, procurement practices are too often driven on lowest cost and interpretation of framework requirements, which are not always reflective of the cultural change that the government and all key stakeholders desire”.

“We support the government’s demand of a much tighter regulated construction industry. This must place a much higher emphasis on professional standards across all construction activity, and mutual recognition of professions and skilled trades. For example, a qualified designer should stipulate a qualified roofer in a roofing contract. The impact of shoddy and non-compliant workmanship should be rooted out across all homes and buildings across the UK.”

Reform Milestone

A Construction Products Association spokesperson commented: “The Deputy Prime Minister’s statement in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Final Report recommendations reflected an understanding that while the UK construction industry has improved since the tragedy, there is much that remains to be done.

“The Construction Products Association (CPA) therefore welcomes the Government’s publishing of the Construction Products Reform Green Paper – its ambition, clarity and direction of travel for the construction products sector has been long awaited.

“As with the two independent reviews overseen by Dame Judith Hackitt and Morrell/Day, we will work with our members and wider industry to provide our full support and response during the Green Paper’s consultation. We are already pleased to note in the Paper the recognition and support from Government for our work in developing the Code for Construction Product Information as a positive industry initiative to raise standards in product information and marketing.

“The Government’s response and the Green Paper mark another key milestone in a continuing series of reforms to our industry’s culture and practices. The CPA remains committed to learning from this tragedy and helping drive meaningful change, particularly toward eliminating unsafe practices and ensuring that safety and accountability become non-negotiable priorities in the industry.”

Don’t Wait

Amanda Long, Chief Executive of CPI Ltd, the not-for-profit organisation set up to guard and manage the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI), said, “The Government response to the Grenfell Phase Two Inquiry Report and publication of the Green Paper confirms the Government’s commitment to bring forward system-wide reform of the construction products regime. We welcome this and applaud the tougher stance on compliance and enforcement. This is crucial to preventing further tragedy. Throughout the Government Green Paper, the importance of clear, accurate, accessible, up-to-date and unambiguous product information and marketing is consistently underscored as critical to the change required.

“The direction of travel laid out by the Government is clear. Industry does not need to wait. All parties must now play their part and embrace greater responsibility, accountability and transparency. In line with this, the CCPI is on a mission to drive a transformational step-change in construction product information management and marketing. If you are a demand-side player – whether that be a contractor, developer, housebuilder, client, architect, specifier, insurer – join our supporter community. If you are a manufacturer or supplier, merchant or distributor, register with the CCPI for assessment of product information and marketing and become part of the community working with the CCPI to raise standards across the industry’.”

Introduce Licensing

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said: “The Grenfell Tower inquiry report has a crucial role to play in ensuring lessons are learnt about building safety. The Government’s decision to act on all 58 recommendations set out in the report is welcome news, particularly the decision to create a new single construction regulator to make sure those responsible for building safety are fully accountable.

“This is something the FMB fully supports. However, a vital step to deliver long-term change must be the introduction of a licensing scheme to ensure domestic building companies have proven minimum competence. Currently anyone can call themselves a builder and this can’t be right, particularly for those working in the domestic building sector.”

“The development of a minimum competency scheme for builders of major construction projects was a key recommendation of the inquiry. This needs to be extended to all construction workers. If we think the situation is challenging for Tier 1 firms, the picture for small building companies and sole-traders is even less clear, given they don’t have inhouse resources for training and HR. The Government now has the opportunity to work with the construction sector to introduce a full licensing scheme for building companies, which will help drive up standards and make construction safer for both builders and consumers.”

Raise Manufacturing Standards

RICS Head of Professional Practice – Building, Gary Strong said: “RICS welcomes the UK Government’s statement on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report, and we look forward to continuing to support these crucial reforms going forward. A new, dedicated construction sector regulator and Chief Construction Adviser is welcome, and RICS will continue to offer its expertise to the government to support plans for the new regulator as it takes shape.

“New rules on product safety should further raise manufacturing standards, whilst new laws empowering tenants in the social housing sector will help protect some of the most vulnerable. It is reassuring that the government plans to provide updates every quarter and RICS will support the implementation of these reforms every step of the way”

Read the full government reponse here.

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