The President of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) has welcomed the Government’s response to the final ‘Phase 2’ report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, including the proposed introduction of a single regulator for the industry and a Chief Construction Adviser. However, CIAT President Eddie Weir warned that there will be a substantial delay before the regulator can be implemented and that it would need “significant further resourcing in order to operate effectively.”
Weir commented:
“The Grenfell Tower Inquiry found failures across almost the entire building safety ecosystem, including building design and management, emergency response, governance and regulation and it is vital that we learn the lessons. We therefore welcome the Government’s detailed response to the Inquiry, and their commitment to ensuring that the recommendations of this and other statutory public inquiries are not left gathering dust on a shelf but drive genuine change.
“The built environment sector has already implemented significant reforms since 2017, with a new building safety regime implemented through the 2022 Building Safety Act and associated secondary legislation. Every project in England and Wales must now have a clearly identified principal designer and principal contractor, to provide oversight and hold ultimate responsibility for ensuring that projects are designed and executed in line with requirements. Additionally, higher-risk buildings, such as tower blocks, now go through additional stages of review by the Building Safety Regulator.
“Nonetheless, we recognise that more can be done to ensure buildings are safe. CIAT supports the ongoing review of Approved Documents (for England), to ensure they are effective and user friendly and a review of the definition of higher-risk buildings, to ensure oversight is proportionate to risk. The Institute welcomes commitments to increased oversight of building control professionals, fire engineers, fire risk assessors and contractors working on higher-risk buildings, while noting that changes must take into account the significant workforce pressures across the sector. The establishment of a single regulator for the sector will provide a greater coherence to regulation but will take time to implement and will need significant further resourcing in order to operate effectively. Similarly, the appointment of a Chief Construction Adviser to Government could provide a “critical friend” to support and challenge regulation and escalate concerns, as long as the Adviser has meaningful independence and appropriate resourcing. CIAT will also closely examine the Construction Products Reform Green Paper, with a view to ensuring that the regulation of products provides both appropriate information for designers, specifiers and contractors, and effective oversight of product testing and certification.
“Implementing these changes will take time, resources, and patience. CIAT looks forward to working with Government to deliver a safer, more resilient built environment, which meets the needs of communities, today and in years to come.”