BSC comments on the Government’s response to the Grenfell Inquiry

British Safety Council comments on the Government’s response to the Grenfell Inquiry

Commenting on the Government’s response to the Grenfell Inquiry, which the Secretary of State for Housing has announced, along with the publication of a consultation on reforms to the construction products regime, Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of British Safety Council, said:

“It is good that the Government will enact all 58 recommendations of the Grenfell Inquiry. As the tragedy at Grenfell Tower made clear, systemic change has long been needed to keep people living in high-rise buildings safe and to ensure accountability and transparency at every touch point of the construction sector. Plans to bring regulation of the sector together under one department and a single regulator are vital to ensuring all products are safe to use, and that adequate enforcement mechanisms exist where products fall below the high standards that society, quite rightly, expects from them.

 

“But as the Government’s Green Paper recognises, a number of gaps still exist, and industry must play its part in helping to share knowledge, best practice and technical know-how to make the buildings of today and tomorrow safer for those who live and work within them.

 

“The Government’s overall approach must change attitudes, rebuild trust in institutions and keep people safe. While many of the finer details will only be developed through the process of consultation, a clear direction of travel has been established towards preventing similar tragedies.”