Government bans combustible materials on high-rise homes
Brokenshire moves to review building regulations fire safety guidance
Government launches consultation on combustible cladding
Grenfell tragedy prompts 56% increase in tenders for fire safety
Steering group takes forward Hackitt recommendations on competence
Government to hold talks on cladding ban
Hackitt announces new authority to hold landlords and managers to account
Rewrite high-rise building safety rules, urges RIBA
Consultation on 'desktop' fire assessments launched
Manchester mayors call on government to protect high-rise residents
Hackitt summit forms plans for working groups to monitor high-rise living
Flammable cladding still being used on buildings
Working groups to monitor high-rise living
Building Regulations are 'unfit for purpose'
19 December 2018 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has announced that the government is implementing all recommendations in the Hackitt Review.
In a statement, Brokenshire said: "The government will create a stronger regulatory framework that will provide national leadership to drive improvements in building safety The government wants the new regulatory structure to draw on the expertise of key existing regulators: the HSE, fire and rescue authorities and local authority building control."
He added that the government would establish a new Joint Regulators Group to help it develop and pilot new approaches and, in due course, to assist with the transition to a new regulatory framework, starting "as soon as practicable".
This group will draw together the expertise of the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), Local Authority Building Control (LABC), the Fire and Rescue Services through the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), the Local Government Association (LGA), and others as needed.
The LABC welcomed the announcement and is working with colleagues from the LGA, NFCC and the HSE to accelerate progress and to identify and run pilots.
LABC chief executive, Paul Everall, said: "The secretary of state has shown leadership by recognising the need for systemic reform of the building safety regime by implementing Dame Judith Hackitt recommendations in full.
"LABC has pledged to provide full support to the new Joint Regulators Group and we are ready with resources, people and expertise. LABC already has the largest group of experienced building control surveyors with demonstrable competency in fire safety in England and Wales - all validated by the Institution of Fire Engineers. And we have been heavily investing in standards and competencies - supported by our UKAS-accredited quality management systems. This has combined with a 16 per cent rise in recruitment across public service building control, which means we are ideally placed to provide the expert support this shadow regulator needs."