-
National regulator established to ensure homes are
built from safe materials
-
Action taken as Grenfell Inquiry reveals manufacturers
ignored safety rules
-
Independent review will examine faults in the testing
system and recommend how abuse can be prevented
Residents will be protected through the establishment of a
national regulator which will ensure materials used to build
homes will be made safer, the Housing Secretary has announced today (Tuesday 19 January).
The regulator for construction products will have the power to
remove any product from the market that presents a significant
safety risk and prosecute any companies who flout the rules on
product safety.
This follows recent testimony to the Grenfell Inquiry that shone
a light on the dishonest practice by some manufacturers of
construction products, including deliberate attempts to game the
system and rig the results of safety tests.
The regulator will have strong enforcement powers including the
ability to conduct its own product-testing when investigating
concerns. Businesses must ensure that their products are safe
before being sold in addition to testing products against safety
standards.
This marks the next major chapter in the Government’s fundamental
overhaul of regulatory systems. The progress on regulatory reform
includes the publication of an ambitious draft Building Safety
Bill, representing the biggest improvements to regulations in
forty years, and a new Building Safety Regulator that is already
up and running in shadow form.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP
said:
“The Grenfell Inquiry has heard deeply disturbing allegations of
malpractice by some construction product manufacturers and their
employees, and of the weaknesses of the present product testing
regime.
“We are establishing a national regulator to address these
concerns and a review into testing to ensure our national
approach is fit for purpose. We will continue to listen to the
evidence emerging in the Inquiry, and await the judge’s ultimate
recommendation - but it is already clear that action is required
now and that is what we are doing.”
Business Minister and Minister for London
said:
“We all remember the tragic scenes at Grenfell Tower, and the
entirely justified anger which so many of us in London and
throughout the UK continue to feel at the failings it exposed.
“This must never happen again, which is why we are launching a
new authority to test and regulate the safety of construction
materials, informed by the expertise that already exists within
the Office for Product Safety and Standards.”
Chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations
and Fire Safety Dame Judith Hackitt said:
“This is another really important step in delivering the new
regulatory system for Building Safety. The evidence of poor
practice and lack of enforcement in the past has been laid bare.
As the industry itself starts to address its shortcomings I see a
real opportunity to make great progress in conjunction with the
national regulator.”
The regulator will operate within the Office for Product Safety
and Standards (OPSS) which will be expanded and given £10m in
funding to establish the new function. It will work with the
Building Safety Regulator and Trading Standards to encourage and
enforce compliance.
The government has also commissioned an independent review to
examine weaknesses in previous testing regimes for construction
products, and to recommend how abuse of the testing system can be
prevented.
It will be led by a panel of experts with regulatory, technical
and construction industry experience and will report later this
year with recommendations.
Notes to editors:
