The latest report from the Building Control Independent Panel on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations sets out the findings and recommendations to government.
It considers recommendations 22 and 23 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report, which asked for an independent panel to consider whether to remove commercial interest from building control and move to a national authority model.
The new report finds that the building control system faces long-standing challenges, including fragmentation, conflicts of interest, uneven capacity and inconsistent oversight, despite the professionalism and commitment of those working within it.
It sets out principles for reform, alongside recommendations for action in the near term and options for longer-term fundamental reform.
Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Building Control Independent Panel, said: “What we have seen within the building control profession is a workforce of skilled, knowledgeable and deeply committed people.
“Many have decades of experience and are driven by a strong public interest ethos. It is equally clear that they are being let down by a system that is fragmented, inconsistent and too often unable to support them to do the job the public needs.
“Good people cannot compensate indefinitely for a system that places them under conflicting pressures, resource constraints and unmanageable workloads. This reality must inform any credible path forward.
“The panel’s conclusion is that the current arrangements cannot deliver the assurance, consistency and conflict free oversight that the public deserves to ensure their health and safety. Many of the issues we have identified are structural and will persist without decisive action.
“If we were designing a system from first principles, we would not create one that allows dutyholders to choose their own regulator. Our recommendations set out how government could transition toward a model that removes this conflict of interest and creates clearer lines of accountability.
“We recognise that these are significant reforms, and that achieving them will require both political commitment and careful sequencing. In the near term, steps can be taken to reduce the impacts of conflicts of interest, to support the workforce and to strengthen oversight.
“Over the longer term, we envisage the move to fewer, more resilient building control bodies with statutory responsibilities, overseen by the emerging Single Construction Regulator. Such a model offers the best opportunity to build capacity, pool expertise and create the clarity that is needed for consistent inspection, enforcement and decision making.”
Lorna Stimpson, LABC Chief Executive "The long-anticipated report is a significant contribution to the conversation on the future of building control.
“I am encouraged by the panel’s acknowledgement of the skilled, knowledgeable and deeply committed people who work in the building control profession, and their acknowledgement that the profession has been let down by a system that is fragmented, inconsistent and places them under conflicting pressure; I’m also grateful to see recognition of the significant reform that building control has already embraced since 2017.
“We have spent many years working closely with MHCLG officials and the Building Safety Regulator to improve capacity and capability in public service building control, providing qualifications and competence-specific learning to over 2500 surveyors and technicians working for local authorities across England and Wales. The Independent Panel’s report, alongside recent significant government funding, reinforces the importance of our drive to upskill, reskill and increase the capacity in public service building control, and recognises that the profession is already transforming its ways of working and contribution to safety and quality.
“We look forward to working with MHCLG and colleagues across both public and private sector building control, to build on the principles laid out in the report to help shape the future of our profession."
