Steps to create a safer culture and future for the construction industry – recent updates and has enough been done?

Introduction

The Construction Leadership Council (“CLC”) published a report on “Creating Safe Buildings: Delivering safety, competence, and quality“[1] in late August 2024 (the “CLC Report”). The CLC Report preceded publication of the significant and highly anticipated Phase 2 “Report into the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017” on 4 September 2024[2] (the “Grenfell Report”).

The CLC Report recognises that an important collective responsibility of the construction industry is to deliver buildings that are safe, both during construction and occupation. It is structured as follows and outlines the core changes and efforts made to improve:

1. Leadership and Culture;
2. Safe Design;
3. Safe Construction;
4. Safe Products; and
5. Safe Building Occupancy.

Although much progress has been made in each of the above areas, the CLC Report also notes that future change is required to fulfil the CLC’s ambitions and in view of the Grenfell Report (see “Commentary” below).

Key takeaways

We set out the key elements of the CLC Report below.

Leadership and Culture

• The CLC recognises it can contribute to providing general industry leadership, but notes that these elements are also required within companies/firms, professional institutions, and trade associations. The CLC Report emphasises the importance of making improvements to procurement and commercial practices within the sector and encouraging a more collaborative industry culture.
• To help facilitate such changes, the CLC has focused on raising industry awareness and understanding through training, conferences, and webinars. The industry’s ‘Building A Safer Future’ scheme is active, assessing company practices, and additional guidance has been developed regarding products and for homeowners.

Safe Design

• Design plays a crucial role in ensuring structural integrity and fire safety for buildings. The Building Regulations (“BRs”) contain the functional and technical requirements to be met to ensure that new builds, conversions, refurbishments, and extensions are safe and function as expected. Approved Documents offer guidance on compliance with these requirements and the BRs. (Note that between the release of the CLC Report and Grenfell Report, the Government announced changes to Approved Document B to support enhanced fire safety and coming into effect over the coming years[3].)
• The role of designers is “vital to building safety”. The BR Principal Designer is a dutyholder under the new building safety regime.
• The CLC Report outlines the measures implemented in the industry concerning PAS 8671 (Competence), the Principal Designer Register, and additional guidance (including around collaborative reporting, safety-critical elements, fire dampers, and the firestopping of service penetrations).
• Higher-Risk Buildings (“HRBs”) now require approval from the Building Safety Regulator (“BSR”) to confirm that the design complies with the relevant BRs before construction work commences[4].
• The client must also obtain a completion certificate from the BSR, verifying that the construction aligns with the agreed design, prior to the building’s registration for occupation.

Safe Construction

• Buildings must be constructed according to BRs and other applicable standards to ensure their safety for occupancy.
• Contractors play a crucial role in delivering buildings that are safe and adhere to the approved design. Moreover, the Principal Contractor, as a dutyholder, is responsible for compliance with BRs and ensuring building safety during construction.
• The construction process and phase should be managed by capable and competent organisations or individuals equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours to deliver a safe building.
• The CLC acknowledges the industry’s efforts to support these requirements, including the establishment of the Common Assessment Standard (a third-party certification process), the PAS (Principal Contractor Nominated Individuals), and cross-sector Industry Competence Frameworks. Additionally, there have been initiatives such as training, the implementation of Industry Card Schemes, and complete reform of the building control profession.

Safe Products

• Safe buildings rely on the correct selection, use, and installation of materials, products, and systems that are suitable and perform as expected. It is crucial for all involved parties to know what is permissible in terms of use. Therefore, manufacturers’ information must be clear, precise, current and reliable to aid in selecting appropriate products and materials.
• The CLC acknowledges industry’s efforts to support these requirements, including the independent review and recommendations regarding product testing and certification[5] and raised by the Code for Construction Product Information[6]. The recent review made several recommendations to support an enhanced regulatory regime, including exploring the practicality of developing new testing, standards and guidance, and a testing and certification process to provide information and confidence (also themes within the Grenfell Report).

Safe Occupation

• The occupation phase is the longest period in a building’s lifecycle. This recognises the public’s right to expect that buildings are designed, constructed, and maintained safely.
• Clear responsibilities for building management are essential for safe occupation, as well as ensuring the development and revision of the golden thread information, safety case, resident engagement strategy, and that other key documents comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Proper maintenance and adherence to inspection protocols are also crucial.
• The CLC Report highlights the creation of the Building Safety Alliance to improve standards and competencies for building safety managers. Additional measures implemented include the establishment of guidelines for the golden thread of information, the creation of comprehensive industry-wide competency frameworks, and the complete reform of the building control profession.

Commentary – is future change needed?

The CLC has acknowledged that work on building safety remains one of its four strategic priorities, and it plans to review this following the release of the Grenfell Report. The above summaries help to flag some of the core actions and future direction of travel linked to each of the core areas in the CLC Report. The CLC Report also contains useful information and links to resources for those working within the construction industry. Further guidance on “Delivering the golden thread: Guidance for dutyholders and accountable persons” has also been recently issued by the CLC[7].

Our summary of the key findings and recommendations made in the Grenfell Report is available here: we will be issuing further digestible updates over the coming weeks. Whilst the Grenfell Report acknowledges the steps taken by the construction industry and progress made over the seven years since the fire occurred, it also highlights a prevailing view that the industry must do more to enhance its technical competencies and prioritise safety and quality (including over speed and cost reduction). The Grenfell Report makes clear that further change to address the attitudes and practices of the construction industry and associated stakeholders is still required, specifically stating at paragraph 1.17 of the Introduction there are “some important areas in which improvements need to be made and others in which the action taken by the government does not go far enough”[8].  The Grenfell Report makes recommendations to address some of the damning evidence and conclusions, as well as general industry findings, reached during the Inquiry.

Consequently, it is advisable for construction professionals, contractors, and consultants, and their insurers and advisers, to keep abreast of future developments stemming from the release of these two important industry reports, especially as the construction and engineering sector and key membership bodies and organisations assimilate and implement the content. For example, we will consider the impact of the Grenfell Report on future building safety legislation as part of our “Digesting the Grenfell Report” review (click here for further details). If you need additional assistance with any issues highlighted in the reports or with their implications for future procurements, contract negotiations, or practices, please reach out to the authors or your usual contact at Beale & Co. You can also find out more about building and fire safety, as well as health and safety in the context of construction and the environment, via our website here.

[1] CLC Building Safety Report – Construction Leadership Council

[2] Publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[3] Approved Document B (Fire Safety): new updates to support enhanced fire safety – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[4] Note that the Grenfell Report has recommended a review of the definition of HRBs however

[5] Introduction and executive summary – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[6] Home – Code for Construction Product Information (cpicode.org.uk)

[7] CLC-Golden-Thread-Guidance.pdf (constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk)

[8] Introduction and executive summary – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), paragraph 1.17