The government has agreed to create a single regulator for the construction industry as part of its response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
In its response to the inquiry’s phase two report, the government has also said it will appoint a chief construction adviser to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and establish a record of public inquiry recommendations – but only recommendations made from 2024 onwards.
Another recommendation, to bring responsibility for all functions relating to fire safety into one department under a single secretary of state, was confirmed by the prime minister earlier this month. Keir Starmer announced on February 13 that responsibility for fire would move from the Home Office to MHCLG, effective from 1 April.
Housing secretary and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: ”The Grenfell Tower tragedy claimed 72 innocent lives in a disaster that should never have happened. The final report exposed in stark and devastating detail the shocking industry behaviour and wider failures that led to the fire, and the deep injustices endured by the bereaved, survivors, and residents.
“We are acting on all of the inquiry’s findings, and today set out our full response, detailing the tough action we are taking to drive change and reform the system to ensure no community will ever have to face a tragedy like Grenfell ever again.
“That means greater accountability, stronger regulation, and putting residents at the heart of decision-making. We must deliver the fundamental change required. We owe that to the Grenfell community, to the country, and to the memory of those who lost their lives.”
The government has accepted 49 of the phase two report’s recommendations in full and nine in principle. Phase two of the inquiry focused on the years of decisions leading up to the disaster, after phase one had looked at the night of the fire.
The introduction of a single regulator is one of the recommendations accepted “in principle”.
The report said a single body should be formed, led by a construction regulator, which is responsible for all aspects of fire safety regulation in the construction industry. The regulator would report into a single secretary of state who is answerable to parliament for all aspects of fire safety.
In its response, the government said the regulator will deliver the functions specified in the report with two exceptions: “We do not believe it is appropriate for the single regulator to undertake testing and certification of construction products or issue certificates of compliance, as this would create a new conflict of interest within the regulator. Instead, we will strengthen oversight of Conformity Assessment Bodies through reforms to the construction products regime”.
The inquiry report warned that both regulation of the construction industry and the functions within government relating to fire safety are “too complex and fragmented”.
The recommendation to create a chief construction adviser with a “sufficient budget and staff to provide advice on all matters affecting the construction industry”, was accepted in full by the government.
It said the adviser will monitor the department’s work relating to the Building Regulations, statutory guidance and the construction industry more generally, and bring industry together and hold it to account “to help design and deliver the progress we must make together to realise effective reform and culture change”. The adviser will also provide direct input and gather industry feedback on the design and implementation of the single regulator, the government said.
The government previously had a chief construction adviser, from 2008 to 2015, when the role was scrapped under then-prime minister David Cameron’s anti-regulation drive.
The report had also called for it to be a legal requirement for the government to maintain a public record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries and the steps taken in response. The government said it has accepted this in principle, saying it will establish a record on GOV.UK of all recommendations made by public inquiries since 2024, and will consider making this an enduring legal requirement.
The government has also agreed to review the Civil Contingencies Act and consider whether the MHCLG secretary of state should be able to intervene “promptly and decisively” in an emergency and carry out the functions of a Category 1 responder in its place for a limited period of time. Category 1 responders are organisations that are at the centre of the response to emergencies and are subject to the full range of civil protection duties. These include: emergency services, such as police, fire, and ambulance services; local authorities; and NHS bodies.
The government said the Cabinet Office will review statutory interventions powers, in consultation with other government departments.
The government has committed to publish its progress towards implementing the inquiry's recommendations in each quarter from mid-2025, as well as an annual update to parliament "to ensure wider scrutiny of the pace and direction of work".
It also outlined that it will deliver reforms using a phased approach over the course of this parliament. The first phase (2025-2026) will focus on delivering the government's current programme of regulatory reform and change. The second phase (2026- 2028) will focus on having fully developed proposals to deliver recommendations and wider reform. And from 2028 onwards, the government will focus on implementing these reforms.
Earlier this month, in response to the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee’s September report Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust, the Cabinet Office said it was “actively considering whether there is scope for wider reforms to the frameworks within which inquiries are set up, run and concluded".