A new regulator as part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will have oversight of the design, construction and occupation of high-risk buildings, says the Government. Dame Judith Hackitt will chair a board to oversee the transition.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “The government is committed to bringing about the biggest change in building safety for a generation. Progress on improving building safety needs to move significantly faster to ensure people are safe in their homes and building owners are held to account. That’s why today I’m announcing a major package of reforms, including establishing the Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive to oversee the new regime and publishing consolidated guidance for building owners.
“Unless swift progress is seen in the coming weeks, I will publicly name building owners where action to remediate unsafe ACM cladding has not started. There can be no more excuses for delay, I’m demanding immediate action.”
Jenrick said that from next month he will start to name building owners where remediation has not started to remove unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding from buildings, identified after the Grenfell Tower (pictured) fire of June 2017 in west London. As the Government says, other high-rise fires, including in a block of student flats in Bolton in November 2019, highlighted that many building owners have still not taken measures to ensure the safety of residents in buildings at all heights.
Jenrick confirmed that the Government will consult on extending the ban on combustible materials to buildings below 18 metres and will seek views on how risks are assessed within buildings to inform policy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has written to the chairman of the Grenfell Public Inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, updating him on the government’s response to Phase 1, as published in November.
The British Safety Council (BSC) welcomed the proposals to set up a new Building Safety Regulator within the HSE but warned that it must be adequately resourced and funded. BSC Chief Executive Mike Robinson said: “We all share a determination that the tragic fire at Grenfell must never, ever happen again. I am glad that the government has accepted the inquiry’s recommendations and that there is now a sense of urgency to implement them. We await the detailed proposals in the Fire Safety Bill with interest.”
For Phase 1 the Inquiry sat for 123 days of hearings, heard from over 140 witnesses and received over 500,000 documents relevant to both phases. The Inquiry has disclosed about 75,000 documents to core participants relating to Phase 2. Phase 2 hearings are due to begin on January 27.
