The Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG) has released its fifth update and urged greater co-operation in setting standards and establishing best practice.
Industry needs to work together among themselves and with government and regulators to develop a compelling vision of the future that reflects a sector committed to high standards of building safety.
The ISSG was formed to scrutinise the built environment sector proposals and make progress on culture change on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG).
The aim of the group is to provide support and constructive challenge to industry. It also works to determine actions to overcome blockages and speed up culture change in the construction industry, helping it to become a safer and more trusted sector.
The ISSG states the government plays an important role in supporting collaboration with industry. It support the constructive engagement already in motion but urges ministers to take more decisive action to hold industry fully accountable for its actions, especially those who continue to show a reluctance to engage.
“Differentiation between good and bad actors is much needed, and it is not solely a matter of enforcement by the regulator,” continues the latest statement.
“We are concerned that the urgency to act post-Grenfell has already started to wane in some parts of the sector. The inquiry report must be a watershed moment which catalyses change based on the many hard lessons to be learned.
“We recognise that the Phase 2 report took enormous effort over many months, and we commend the inquiry team on the work which went into its production. We agreed with many of the points made concerning the failures within government and are pleased that government and regulators are proactively responding to the inquiry’s recommendations.
“The inquiry recommendations concentrated on actions for government, and we are concerned that many in industry have taken this lack of commentary on its failures as an indication that they got off lightly.
“We are alarmed and disappointed by this response and feel strongly that it must be countered robustly.
“ISSG strongly believes that there needs to be incentives for good practice as well as substantive sanctions for those who fail to meet standards.
The group has welcomed ISSG the Construction Products Reform green paper which supports the government response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, despite concern that this important policy area has not been adequately addressed for too long.
“It sets out a range of proposals for construction products reform, including proposals that address the inquiry’s recommendations,” it continues. “The objectives of the paper are to ensure safety, accountability, growth, and innovation.
“We also welcome the subsequent Construction Products Reform White Paper and support the government’s message that safety needs to come first. We are encouraged by the proposals in the white paper to introduce a general safety requirement for all construction products, and for enhanced enforcement and sanctions.
“We remain concerned about the capacity and independence of testing houses which we feel was a missing element from the green paper. We also question whether the white paper goes far enough in its proposals of regulatory oversight of the Conformity Assessment Bodies to ensure their independence.
“ISSG urges the government to proceed at pace with this work as we believe that legislation to implement construction products reform is long overdue, and is a vital element of the necessary overall system reform.”
While it says there is some good work being done across the industry to raise standards and embed building safety plans, the ISSG is concerned that building safety is not being prioritised at either the early or final stages of the construction process.
It is also concerned that some parts of the built environment sector do not recognise or understand the important role that they can and should play in encouraging better behaviours.
“The financial sector, clients, and those responsible for buildings in occupation must all place building safety and, most importantly, life safety at the forefront of their plans,” it adds. “We believe that engagement with all these stakeholders will enable the link between good quality, safety, and sound investment to be recognised and become a positive cause of change.”
