Grenfell Inquiry report is “most powerful reminder that we must double-down on safety”

Those working in the built environment have responded to yesterday’s publication of the final report from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, calling it the “most powerful reminder, if we needed one, that we must double-down on safety”.

Recommendations made by the inquiry panel include:

• bringing responsibility for all aspects of fire safety under one government
  department;
• the appointment of a construction regulator to oversee all aspects of the
  construction industry;
• the establishment of a body of professional fire engineers, properly regulated
  and with protected status and the introduction of mandatory fire safety
  strategies for higher-risk buildings;
• a licensing scheme for contractors wishing to undertake the construction or
  refurbishment of higher-risk buildings;
• the regulation and mandatory accreditation of fire risk assessors;
• the establishment of a College of Fire and Rescue to provide practical,
  educational and managerial training to fire and rescue services;
• the introduction of a requirement for the government to maintain a publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries, describing the steps taken in response or its reasons for declining to implement them.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has welcomed publication today of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report.  It said:

The findings are a serious and comprehensive reflection of the worst of UK construction’s culture and practices; which led to a tragedy that should and could have been avoided.  We fully respect those findings and offer our sympathies and condolences to the families and wider Grenfell community.

The inquiry has also put forward a number of recommendations for both our industry and government, to ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated.  The CLC, as the representative body for the entire UK construction industry, will now study these recommendations and engage with industry and the government as to how they can be taken forward through our ongoing work on building safety.

Over the past seven years the CLC and its many members have made building safety one of our highest priorities, actively working to learn from the failures at Grenfell and reform our culture, behaviours and competence.  Much of that work is summarised in a recent CLC report here.  Whilst progress has been made, we know that more work can and should be done to fulfil the CLC’s ambition of establishing an industry that can be trusted to deliver safe and high quality buildings for those who live and work in them.  We remain fully committed to this goal.

The Construction Products Association (CPA) said:

Today’s publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report is a landmark moment in the history and future of the UK construction industry.  As expected, it also raises critical issues relating to construction products.  The inquiry’s findings make clear that the tragedy was wholly avoidable, but for a failure in culture, practice and competence.

We acknowledge and agree with these findings, and again extend our sympathies to the families and wider Grenfell community.

Many of these issues identified by the inquiry have also been highlighted previously by the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety (led by Dame Judith Hackitt) and the Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime (led by Paul Morrell OBE and Annelise Day KC).

The recommendations from all these reports provide a clear picture about what needs to change in the industry. They also reflect the guiding principles that have shaped the CPA’s work since the Grenfell tragedy over seven years ago, and we have accepted them all.

We continue to work closely with manufacturers, government, the regulators and industry to develop and introduce new standards and legislation that will drive reform.

This is not job done. The inquiry report is the most powerful reminder, if we needed one, that we must double-down on safety.  The CPA is committed to continuing this important work.

A professor from the Centre for Future Homes has called for a united response from the UK housing industry to address failures outlined in the final report into the Grenfell fire.

Professor Mike Leonard from Birmingham City University (BCU) helped to set up a fire engineering degree apprenticeship in 2022 in the wake of initial Grenfell report recommendations – the first degree of its kind in the UK. He said:

Today’s report has outlined the systemic failures of a construction sector driven by a race to the bottom, incompetence, very poor behaviour and inadequate regulation and control.

As we reflect on the loss life, we must fully embrace the new legislation and effect a major cultural change, putting life safety and quality first. Our buildings should be non- combustible and resilient to the effects of climate change including overheating, wind, flood and wildfires.

Birmingham City University and The Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE) will continue to work with industry to develop routes to ensure people are competent in their roles and can demonstrate the right behaviours.

Today our thoughts are with those who lost their lives and with their families. We must never forget the human cost of this wholly avoidable event.

Mark Elliott, President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said:

We welcome this report and the Government’s commitment to consider its recommendations carefully to ensure that such a tragedy can never occur again. Everyone with responsibility for building safety will need to reflect on the implications of the report.

The deaths that occurred in this tragedy were avoidable. The report shows that the people who lived in the tower were badly failed by the institutions which should have ensured their safety.

The report also illustrates the danger of the pursuit by government of a deregulatory agenda to the point where matters affecting the safety of life are disregarded.

Environmental health professionals work with partner services on a daily basis in order to reduce deaths from fire. As the recent fire in Dagenham illustrates, however, there is a great deal more to do.

Our members are committed to improving fire safety in residential accommodation. The need for well organised and properly funded housing regulation, inspection and enforcement is something that must not be ignored.