On Thursday, five members were announced as being appointed to the panel
The Building Control Independent Panel will carry out reviews of building control and determine whether changes are required.
The panel has been established on the back of recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
Dame Judith Hackitt is chairing the Building Control Independent Panel
Hackitt has previously led the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and brought reforms to the sector.
Hackitt has extensive experience in engineering, and has most recently been acting as an adviser on building standards for the UK and Australian governments, and is a member of the International Building Quality Council.
Four other experts in regulation and building control will join Hackitt on the new panel: Elaine Bailey, Ken Rivers, Rt Hon Nick Raynsford, and Dr David Snowball.
The Panel will now undertake an independent review of the building control model, keeping the Grenfell inquiry’s recommendations in mind and considering commercial incentives, alternative options, and approaches.
A report is expected to be published in Autumn.
“The panel stands ready”
Minister for building safety, Alex Norris MP, said: “The appointment of this independent panel is a significant step in our response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. We need a building control system that puts safety first and supports our plans to accelerate remediation. It must also help to deliver 1.5 million safe, high-quality homes over this Parliament, and be equipped to meet the demands of a modern construction sector.
“Their work will play a vital role in shaping a safer, more accountable building industry, and I look forward to receiving the panel’s recommendations as they take this important work forward.”
The chair for the Building Control Independent Panel, Dame Judith Hackitt, said: “The panel stands ready to get to work on this important review. We will work at speed but we come at this issue with an open mind and a determination to further raise standards”.
The Grenfell inquiry made several recommendations besides reviewing building control standards, including:
- A licensing scheme for contractors seeking to work on high-rise buildings
- Creating a new construction regulator reporting directly to a cabinet minister
- Creating a national authority to administer building control functions, stripping town halls of that power
- The introduction of mandatory fire safety strategies for higher-risk buildings
- Regulation and mandatory accreditation of fire risk assessors
- Requiring the Government to maintain a publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries, documenting actions taken and explanations for those not implemented
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