Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety

Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety

Post Summit Statement

On 22 January, Dame Judith Hackitt hosted a summit kick-starting the next phase of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. The event was attended by around 50 senior industry figures, reflecting the full scope of the Independent Review.

At the summit, Dame Judith issued a ‘call to action’ to all those involved in the system to bring about changes that will enable residents to be assured that their buildings are, and will continue to be, safe to live in. She called on industry, regulators, central and local Government to demonstrate their commitment to transforming the environment and culture into one in which the safety of residents is paramount.

______

The Government announced an independent, forward-looking Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety on 28 July 2017. The Review is led by Dame Judith Hackitt, an experienced engineer, and is looking at current building regulations and fire safety, with a particular focus on multi-occupancy, high-rise residential buildings.

Dame Judith’s Interim Report was published on 18 December 2017. The Report finds that:

The current system for ensuring fire safety in high-rise and complex buildings is not fit for purpose.
A culture change is required, with industry taking greater responsibility for what is built – this change needs to start now.
This applies throughout the building life cycle, both during construction and occupation.
A clear, quick and effective route for residents to raise concerns and be listened to must be created.

The Report sets out six broad areas for change:

Ensuring that regulation and guidance is risk-based, proportionate and unambiguous.
Clarifying roles and responsibilities for ensuring that buildings are safe.
Improving levels of competence within the industry.
Improving the process, compliance and enforcement of regulations.
Creating a clear, quick and effective route for residents’ voices to be heard and listened to.
Improving testing, marketing and quality assurance of products used in construction.

______

In its next phase, the Review aims to develop practical solutions to deliver the areas of change and direction of travel set out in the Interim Report. A major overhaul of the whole system is needed, and Dame Judith will work with those who share her ambition and drive to create a new and robust regulatory framework and system that supports this. Across all sectors, industry needs to think radically about the actions they can take now that will lead to sustainable change.

At the summit, industry leaders committed to work aimed at creating a new system that will work effectively and coherently. Working groups will be established to develop innovative solutions in the following key areas:

Design, construction and refurbishment - establishing what industry and regulators need to do to fully embed building safety during the design and construction phase.
Occupation and maintenance - identifying what building owners, landlords and regulators need to do differently to ensure that building safety is prioritised when a building is occupied and throughout its life cycle.
Products - determining how the product testing and marketing regime can be improved.
Competency - establishing how competency requirements for key individuals involved in building and managing complex and high-risk buildings should change.
Residents’ voice - determining the best way for residents to be given a clear, quick and effective statutory route for raising concerns on fire safety.
Regulation and guidance - resolving whether central Government ownership of technical guidance is the most appropriate model for complex and high-risk buildings.

At the summit, Dame Judith said:

‘I have been greatly encouraged by the wide ranging support, which my Interim Report received. We can now say with confidence that there is widespread agreement that the current system of regulation for high-rise and complex buildings is broken, and that we need a radical overhaul and a change in culture.’

‘Agreeing on the problem has been the easy bit. We now face a different challenge, which is to agree both the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of delivering the transformational change which is needed. We are inviting people from a wide range of organisations to join with us not just in agreeing the way forward but in making it happen. We have made it clear that those who are part of this phase must be ready and willing to drive change, to work collaboratively and to do this to our timescales. All the work must take place under the umbrella of the Review to ensure that the component parts fit together to deliver a simpler, coherent, robust system, which ensures safety in high-rise and complex buildings throughout their life cycle.’

______

The Review’s Final Report will issue in the spring. Organisations and experts wishing to contribute proactively to this next phase of work, should contact the Independent Review at .