Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Phase 2 Report: Andrew Parker shares his immediate takeaways

Four years on from the initial report, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has now published the second, and final, report into the circumstances surrounding the events up to 14 June 2017. The inquiry examined the fundamental causes of the fire and investigated where mistakes were made.

Andrew Parker and the Building Safety team have followed this matter closely, with Andrew’s immediate thoughts on the report featured in The Sunday Times, Architects Journal, BE News, Construction Wave, Property Week, IOSH Magazine, EG, FMJ, and Fire Safety Matters, alongside numerous other industry experts, contextualising the recommendations from the Inquiry.

Here are Andrew’s takeaways of note:

“A key finding is that government was given plenty of warning as far back as 1991 of the risks of combustible cladding panels and insulation, particularly on higher-rise buildings, and so had opportunities to take action but failed to do so.

The arrangements for procuring works to higher-risk buildings have been found to be deficient. There is a clear message that the way key members of the construction industry have been regulated and trained needs to change and guidance provided by government for compliance with the relevant legislation needs to be improved. Regulation of the construction industry has become too complex and fragmented.

There will be tighter regulation of fire engineers and contractors which, depending on the timescale for implementation, may squeeze an already resource-starved area of the industry. Although, no express requirements have been placed on architects, the ARB and RIBA have been encouraged to review the changes they have already implemented for the education and training of architects and when taken in the context of the Inquiry’s finding that there may have been a “widespread failure” among the architectural profession, the review that has been recommended may well lead to tighter regulation of architects as well.

There are no additional requirements being placed on clients who commission building work, but we can expect the already-introduced compliance statement signed by clients to be strictly enforced following its endorsement by the Inquiry.

There is an emphasis on protecting vulnerable people in whatever building they are in, not determined necessarily by the height of the building. A review of the definition of a higher-risk building will bring a larger number of buildings within the scope of the strict requirements introduced by the Building Safety Act. Fire strategies will need to be reviewed and possibly amended to take account of the needs of vulnerable people and the nature of the building’s use.”