Announcement: The Government responds to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report

Recommendation

Response

A single regulator and changes to the definition of higher-risk buildings:

The government draw together under a single regulator all the functions relating to the construction industry referred to in the report.

The definition of a higher-risk building for the purposes of the Building Safety Act (currently, a building that is at least 18 metres in height (or has at least seven storeys) and contains at least two residential units) be reviewed urgently.

The government confirmed its intention to set up a single construction regulator and will set out a detailed plan later in 2025.

Although, this recommendation is not fully agreed on the basis that the government has suggested that there would be a conflict of interest if the single regulator also undertook testing and certification of construction products or issues certificates of compliance.

In relation to the recommended changes to the definition of a higher-risk building, the government has undertaken an initial review and will set out plans for its ongoing review in summer 2025.

Contractors licensing scheme and personal undertakings by principal contractors:

A licensing scheme operated by the construction regulator should be introduced for principal contractors wishing to undertake the construction or refurbishment of higher-risk buildings, together with a requirement for a supporting personal undertaking from a director or senior management to take all reasonable care to ensure that on completion and handover the building is as safe as is required by the Building Regulations 2010 (the ‘Building Regulations’)

The government has committed to working with the construction sector to consider how introducing a licensing scheme for principal contractors on higher-risk buildings can best work.

It also confirmed its intention to review the impact of the new dutyholder regime and align its criteria with the dutyholder requirements.

Architects and statements by principal designers:

The government should review the changes made  to the education and training of architects by both the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Applications for building control approval (Gateway 2) be supported by a statement from a senior manager of the principal designer under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA).

The government has committed to supporting both ARB and RIBA with any further changes deemed necessary.

The government intends to make it a statutory requirement to include such a statement supporting building control approval applications, requiring the principal designer to confirm they have complied with their existing duties. This includes all reasonable steps being taken to ensure the design complies with relevant requirements in building regulations.

Fire safety strategies:

Introduce a statutory requirement for a fire safety strategy produced by a registered fire engineer to be submitted with building control applications (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).

In relation to the requirement for a fire safety strategy, the government confirmed it is already required within building control applications for the construction of/significant work to higher-risk buildings. The intention is for the Building Safety Regulator to clarify this guidance to applicants.

It has also committed to consider how to effectively protect and regulate the profession of fire engineer.

Building control reform and a new national authority:

The appointment of 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.

The same panel should consider whether all building control functions should be performed by a national authority.

Governmental responsibility:

The government bring responsibility for the functions relating to fire safety currently exercised by MHCLG, the Home Office and the Department for Business and Trade into one department under a single Secretary of State.

Angela Rayner confirmed that as of 1 April 2025, ministerial responsibility for fire functions will move from the Home Office to MHCLG in line with the recommendation to bring fire safety into single government department.

The government recognises the need to improve coordination and efficiency in fire safety oversight. The proposed plan aims to streamline processes and enhance building and occupant safety.

A Chief Construction Adviser:

The Secretary of State should appoint a Chief Construction Adviser with a sufficient budget and staff to provide advice on all matters affecting the construction industry.

The government confirmed its intention to appoint a Chief Construction Adviser and will set out a detailed plan later this year.

The Chief Construction Adviser will advise the Secretary of State, monitor the department’s work on Building Regulations and statutory guidance, address broader construction industry issues, unite the industry to drive reform and culture change, and help design and implement the single regulator.

This should lead to a more coordinated and effective approach to regulation within the construction industry.

Legislation and guidance:

The statutory guidance generally, and Approved Document B (a set of guidelines that outline fire safety regulations for buildings in England) in particular, should be reviewed accordingly and a revised version published as soon as possible.

A revised version of the guidance should contain a clear warning in each section that the legal requirements are contained in the Building Regulations and that compliance with the guidance will not necessarily result in compliance with them.

Reconsideration of the “stay put strategy” when Approved Document B is revised, taking into account the relationship between the rate at which fire is likely to spread through the external walls and the time required to evacuate the building or the relevant parts of it.

Membership of bodies advising on changes to the statutory guidance should include representatives of the academic community as well as those with practical experience of the industry (including fire engineers).

The government has acknowledged this recommendation and stated that the Building Safety Regulator is currently reviewing how statutory guidance, including Approved Document B, might best be structured, updated, and presented to provide accurate, up-to-date, and coherent guidance.

Interim findings will be published by summer 2025, with a full list of recommendations being made available next year.

Approved Document B has been updated multiple times since 2017 to improve fire safety standards, and it will remain under continuous review.

The Building Safety Regulator will also consult on further changes in autumn 2025.

Fire performance tests:

Steps should be taken in conjunction with the professional and academic community to develop new test methods to provide the information needed for reliable assessments.

Information obtained from tests on different buildings should not be used by those who are not trained fire engineers as a substitute for an assessment by a suitably qualified fire engineer.

The government will include a diverse range of academic and professional representatives in bodies advising on statutory guidance changes and to develop new test methods for assessing external wall systems in collaboration with the professional and academic community.

The BSA has already established the Building Advisory Committee and thematic working groups, which include significant academic and professional representation. These groups will be involved in the review of statutory guidance. The government, working with the construction sector, aims to ensure test methods are effective, and accurately indicate the behaviour of external wall systems during a fire.

The ongoing review, led by the Building Safety Regulator, will consider necessary changes to guidance for external walls.

Certification of products and publication of test data:

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.

Increased clarity should be provided as regards certificates of conformity to avoid those who rely on them being misled.

The government has published a Construction Products Reform Green Paper (the ‘Green Paper’) alongside its formal response to the Inquiry (which you can access here). This is part of the government’s system-wide reform.

The Green Paper addresses the recommendation for the construction regulator to assess product conformity and issue certificates. It also outlines various measures to reform the construction product regulatory and institutional landscape, imposing new obligations on key stakeholders involved in testing, certification, and assurance.

Fire Engineers:

The profession of fire engineer should be recognised and protected by law, with an independent regulating body being established.

Increase the number of places on high-quality masters level courses in fire engineering accredited by the professional regulator.

Convene a group of practitioner and academic fire engineers to publish a statement of the knowledge and skills to be expected of a competent fire engineer.

The government and industry should collaborate to encourage the development of courses in the principles of fire engineering for relevant professionals’ continued development.

The government recognises how integral fire engineers are in ensuring safety of lives and has stated that it will consider how to most effectively protect and regulate the profession.

It confirmed its intention to implement the recommendation by considering how to increase attendance at higher-quality master courses, establishing a definition of what is to be expected of a competent fire engineer based on the opinion of academics and practitioners and by beginning to look at how best to implement professional development courses of fire engineering for construction professionals.

A construction library:

The development of a library for those who design buildings, containing data from tests on products and materials, reports on serious fires and academic papers.

The government has responded to this recommendation by acknowledging that it needs to provide better access to information and will establish a digital Construction Library whilst also looking into how to improve access to data (e.g. tests on products and materials and broader fire safety and performance information).

Responses to recommendations:

Maintain a publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries together with a description of the steps taken in response.

The government has accepted, in principle, that a robust system needs to be in place to investigate the implementation of recommendations.

The government has committed to establishing a record on its website of all recommendations that have been made by public inquiries since 2024. It is considering whether this should be a legal requirement. However, government ministers will update Parliament on their progress in implementing such recommendations.

Also highlighted is a current publicly accessible record – Prevention of Future Deaths reports, which is updated by coroners. The government said that it will work with the Chief Coroner in increasing both its availability and transparency, whilst increasing accountability for responses to them.

Fire risk assessors:

Establish of a system of mandatory accreditation to certify the competence of fire risk assessors.

Fire risk assessors have been operating without consistent standards but the government intends to pass legislation to mandate competence requirements for fire risk assessors. The intention is to set a common standard for competence amongst the profession and ensure only the fire risk assessors with appropriate skills, knowledge and experience are employed.

Fire control switches in lifts:

The Building Safety Regulator should urgently advise on the scale of the problem with regard to the lack of universal drop keys for lift fire control switches and introduction of a new standard.

The Building Safety Regulator and the National Fire Chiefs Council are currently reviewing the guidance for the provision of lift fire control switches with the intention of supporting a standardisation in buildings, along with reviewing how drop keys are distributed to firefighters.

Pipeline isolation valves:

Every gas transporter should be required by law to check the accessibility of each such valve on its system at least once every three years and report the same to the Health and Safety Executive.

The government accepts this recommendation in principle and confirms it is working to ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to regularly access and maintain pipeline isolation valves, ensuring they can be used in an emergency.

It acknowledges that three years may not be appropriate in every situation and some may need to be inspected more/less frequently.

The Health and Safety Executive is currently undertaking research to fully understand this before developing initial options, scheduled to be released in March 2025 along with a proposed timetable for implementing the chosen option.

Vulnerable people

Further consideration should be given to the previous recommendations of the Phase 1 report to require owners and managers of every high-rise residential building be required by law to prepare personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for all residents whose ability to evacuate the building without assistance may be compromised.

Revised local responder guidance on ‘Identifying and Supporting Vulnerable People’ is set to be published in spring 2025.

The government plans to lay new Residential PEEPs secondary legislation later in 2025, including mandatory building-level evacuation plans for all high-rise residential buildings and for medium-rise residential buildings with a simultaneous action plan in place. This will make it mandatory for building owners to engage with both vulnerable and disabled residents and give fire and rescue service information to them in support of any evacuation.