6. Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety (Hackitt Review)
Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, a review of the current building regulations was commissioned by the Government. Led by Dame Judith Hackitt, this review commenced in August 2017 and a report of the interim findings was published in December 2017. The final report of the review, titled ‘Building a Safer Future – Independent Review of Buildings Regulations and Fire Safety’, was published on 17 May 2018.
The report found that the current regulatory system for ensuring fire safety in highrise and complex buildings was not fit for purpose and made a number of recommendations. These focused in the first instance on multi-occupancy higher risk residential buildings (HRRBs) of more than 10 storeys, advocating the government adopt the recommendations in their entirety, in order to achieve the culture change required to support the delivery of buildings that are safe, both now and in the future.
We have read and given careful consideration to the findings of the review. From this we know that it is vital to ensure that our programme of risk-based inspections remains as effective as possible, in both its identification of risk and application of control measures. To ensure this, it is likely that we will redirect some resources to support the findings of the review. In the main, these are likely to be focused on our Technical Fire Safety and Community Safety functions. The report can be accessed through the following link: