Building regulations ‘cut corners’ - Grenfell fire

Building regulations are leaving room for shortcuts, a review into fire safety after the Grenfell Tower fire has said.

Dame Judith Hackitt said in her report that she was ’shocked’ by some of the practices she had seen, calling for better enforcement to ‘hold to account those who try to cut corners’.

She said a ‘cultural change’ was needed rather than ‘doing things cheaply’.

The report says the fire in the Grenfell block ‘should not have happened in our country in the 21st century’.

It is aimed at making sure similar events do not occur in the future, rather than investigating the specific circumstances at Grenfell.

She said the whole system of fire safety regulation regarding complex and high-rise buildings was ‘not fit for purpose’ and left room for those who wanted to take shortcuts to do so.

She called for a whole new system of enforcement and regulation for high-rise and complex buildings.

But she added this did not mean buildings were unsafe, with major building failures ‘very rare’ and many people in the housing system doing the right thing.

Key problems Dame Judith found included that regulations were too complex and unclear, clarity of roles in design, construction and maintenance was poor, and the route for residents to escalate concerns was unclear.

Interim recommendations include: an overhaul of the ‘Approved Documents’ in building regulations; an accreditation system to ensure competence for people working on the design, construction, inspection and maintenance of complex buildings are suitably qualified; better consultation with fire services when designing buildings; building developers to ensure formal handover process for any new high-rise residential building before occupation; more done to make sure that fire safety information is passed to the person responsible for running the building once it has been constructed; fire risk assessments are carried out at least annually; and desktop studies to approve changes to cladding should be used only where appropriate and with sufficient, relevant test evidence.

Dame Judith said a ‘tremendous amount of work’ had been done by central government and the fire and rescue service since Grenfell to reassure residents.

But she called for a culture change across the entire industry and those parts of government that oversee it.

A final report is expected in spring next year.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said: "We are determined to make sure that we learn the lessons from the fire and from the inquiries that are taking place."

Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said the report was an ‘important milestone’.

Lord Gary Porter, chairman of the Local Government Association, said the report ‘reinforces our warnings about the complexity and confusion in the current system’. He said the government should take action immediately to work with councils and the industry to take the process of reform forward.