Call for input on construction products reform

IOM3 is calling for inputs on a consultation, in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s findings.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has launched a consultation on construction products reform. The Green Paper sets out plans to implement all 58 recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report through sweeping reforms in construction, building and fire safety norms. New rules and higher standards for construction product safety, alongside a strengthened regulatory framework, are being developed to tackle the failures that led to the Grenfell Tower tragedy and ensure that all new builds are safe and secure. 

The three key objectives outlined by the Ministry are to ensure that construction products are safe for their intended use and trusted by users and residents, to reset industry expectations such that manufacturers and other economic operators act responsibly, and to grow the industrial base and skilled workforce for the delivery of 1.5 million safe, high-quality homes over this Parliament.

The Ministry also identified five groups that will be critical to delivering its ambitions. These are (1) the construction product manufacturers, (2) the construction industry supply chains, including clients, contractors and designers, (3) the national quality infrastructure, including the British Standards Institution, United Kingdom Accreditation Service, and conformity assessment bodies, (4) regulators and (5) government.

Reforms set out in the Green Paper include the introduction of a new single construction regulator; enhanced regulator powers and resources; the implementation of tougher oversight on testing, certification, manufacture and use of construction products; ensuring consistency between the UK’s regulatory framework and the revised EU framework; and expanding regulatory coverage to include all construction products.

The government is inviting feedback on the proposals of the Green Paper from relevant stakeholders. Some of the questions outlined in the consultation include:

• What requirements should apply to products and systems that are critical to safe construction?
• What types of requirements could be placed on those responsible for building works to enable them to meet safety obligations about the specification, selection and installation of construction products?
• What, if any, potential overlapping rules, regulations or guidance should be considered when designing the construction products regulatory regime?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the standards development process, and where could it improve?
• What, if any, additional measures should be considered to strengthen the powers of regulatory authorities?
• What, if any, approach might there be to measuring and/or mitigating the environmental impacts for products brought into the regulatory regime through a general safety requirement?
• How is industry addressing gaps in construction product installation competence and what more can be done to support the improvement of competence in the construction products industry?
• What should the government’s role be in supporting R&D in relation to construction products and the wider built environment?
• What direct or indirect costs could businesses and wider society have due to the proposed reforms?
• Are there particular functions that the construction products sector does well that should be protected or encouraged?

You can read the full consultation and list of questions here. IOM3 is seeking inputs on any or all questions in the consultation and your comments need not be limited to those outlined above.

To find out more or to contribute to the IOM3 response, please contact Aoife Burke at [email protected]. All responses should be sent by Friday, 25 April.