BSR conference: lack of government response to construction product safety review is ‘a real problem’

Duncan Johnson, deputy director of construction product regulation at the Office for Product Safety and Standards, said his organisation was “eagerly waiting for progress in this area to come forward”.

The panellists agreed it was a “good question”, but one that should ultimately be directed at the government.

In January, housing minister Lee Rowley said the government was “committed” to tackling construction product safety, but refused to say when it will respond to the major post-Grenfell review published nine months ago.

Mr Rowley said the response to the Testing for a Safer Future report would come “soon”, but was unable to commit to a date.

The 174-page review, authored by Paul Morrell, the former chief construction advisor to the government, and barrister Anneliese Day, was very critical of the current construction product regime. It argued that many standards were “outdated, inconsistent or non-existent”.

The report, published last April, was commissioned in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people and thrust construction product safety into the spotlight.

Mr Rowley did not mention the review during his keynote address to the conference earlier in the day, but the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has confirmed that it still expects to response to the review "shortly".

None of the delegates Inside Housing spoke to believed a response to the review would come before the next general election.

Nigel Blacklock, technical director at Bauder Flat Roofs, told attendees that the delayed response to the review was affecting his firm’s ability to test certain types of products.

Peter Caplehorn, session chair and chief executive of the Construction Products Association (CPA), echoed some of the concerns raised by the other panellists, and explained that the CPA was working on its own response to the review.

Earlier in the session, an audience member had asked how the industry could ensure it was taking on board the criticisms laid out in the Hackitt Review.

In May 2018, Dame Judith published her much-anticipated Building a Safer Future report, which called for an overhaul of the regulatory regime for tower blocks.

It was set up to review regulations after the Grenfell Tower fire. In the review, she slammed the construction industry for engaging in a “race to the bottom” when it came to price and quality.

Ms Long said: “The reality is we have to change the culture in a way that drives better behaviour, but it isn’t going to happen quickly. It’s been seven years since Grenfell, but I don’t see any radical change on this, and we wouldn’t be being honest with ourselves if we said we did.”

She explained how the CCPI was trying to bring about change on this issue, before she added: “We have got to clear out the bottom feeders from the industry.”

Mr Johnson said that the minimum for any product should be compliance with the new building safety regime, and any additional future secondary legislation.

He added: “The policies need to be there to ensure [manufacturers] can’t and don’t go below that level of compliance.”

At another session, delegates were told that “cultural change is needed to build trust and safety in residents”.