In the full response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report yesterday, the UK Government accepted the findings and set out its plans to act on all 58 recommendations, driving a sweeping transformation to enhance building and fire safety standards.  

Under the proposals, industry will be held to account for failure, with new regulatory measures to prevent a tragedy like the events at Grenfell Tower from ever happening again.

Cladding and insulation firms are among those set to be investigated, with seven organisations facing a from bidding for public contracts, the government has said.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “The Grenfell Tower tragedy claimed 72 innocent lives in a disaster that should never have happened. The final report exposed in stark and devastating detail the shocking industry behaviour and wider failures that led to the fire, and the deep injustices endured by the bereaved, survivors, and residents.

“We are acting on all of the Inquiry’s findings, and today set out our full response, detailing the tough action we are taking to drive change and reform the system to ensure no community will ever have to face a tragedy like Grenfell ever again.

“That means greater accountability, stronger regulation, and putting residents at the heart of decision-making. We must deliver the fundamental change required. We owe that to the Grenfell community, to the country, and to the memory of those who lost their lives.”

Reforms set out yesterday include:

• A new single construction regulator to ensure those responsible for building safety are held to account.  
• Tougher oversight of those responsible for testing and certifying, manufacturing and using construction products with serious consequences for those who break the rules. 
• A legal duty of candour through a new Hillsborough Law, compelling public authorities to disclose the truth, ensuring transparency in major incidents, and holding those responsible for failures to account.  
• Stronger, clearer, and enforceable legal rights for residents, making landlords responsible for acting on safety concerns. 
• Empowering social housing residents to challenge landlords and demand safe, high-quality housing, by expanding the Four Million Homes training programme. Make it easier for tenants to report safety concerns and secure landlord action by taking forward the Make Things Right campaign. 
• Ensuring lasting transparency and accountability by creating a publicly accessible record of all public inquiry recommendations. 

The government also set out the next steps of its review to identify where the Inquiry’s report found failings by specific named organisations in relation to the fire.

New powers under the Procurement Act will be used to investigate seven of the organisations criticised in the report. If certain grounds are met, their names will be added to a published debarment list which must be taken into account by contracting authorities when awarding new contracts.

Following the publication of the UK Government’s response, housing minister Paul McLennan said the Scottish Government do what it can to ensure necessary reform can be delivered.

“Our thoughts remain with the bereaved and survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy,” McLennan said.

“I welcome the UK Government’s broad acceptance of the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report. The tragic fire emphasises how important building and fire safety is in keeping residents and homeowners safe.

“In the aftermath of the tragedy we have taken steps in Scotland to strengthen building safety. This includes banning combustible cladding products from use on specified buildings and introducing new fire safety processes in new-build high rises.

“The Scottish Government is carefully considering each of the Inquiry’s recommendations insofar as they apply in Scotland and proposals put forward by the UK Government. In areas of reserved responsibility we will seek to work with the UK Government to deliver the necessary reform.

“The pace of delivery of the Cladding Remediation Programme is also now accelerating as the essential building blocks are in place including the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024. This includes speeding up the process of carrying out Single Building Assessments and removing unsafe cladding.

“We will publish our response to the recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report along with our Action Plan for Cladding Remediation on 25 March. Subject to the agreement of the Parliamentary Bureau, I will make a statement in the Scottish Parliament to coincide with publication.” 

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) praised the creation of a new single construction regulator but urged the government to go further to create a full licensing scheme for building companies.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “The Grenfell Tower inquiry report has a crucial role to play in ensuring lessons are learnt about building safety. The Government’s decision to act on all 58 recommendations set out in the report is welcome news, particularly the decision to create a new single construction regulator to make sure those responsible for building safety are fully accountable. This is something the FMB fully supports.

“However, a vital step to deliver long-term change must be the introduction of a licensing scheme to ensure domestic building companies have proven minimum competence. Currently, anyone can call themselves a builder and this can’t be right, particularly for those working in the domestic building sector.

“The development of a minimum competency scheme for builders of major construction projects was a key recommendation of the inquiry. This needs to be extended to all construction workers. If we think the situation is challenging for Tier 1 firms, the picture for small building companies and sole traders is even less clear, given they don’t have in-house resources for training and HR. The Government now has the opportunity to work with the construction sector to introduce a full licensing scheme for building companies, which will help drive up standards and make construction safer for both builders and consumers.”

RICS head of professional practice - building, Gary Strong, added: “RICS welcomes the UK Government’s statement on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report, and we look forward to continuing to support these crucial reforms going forward. A new, dedicated construction sector regulator and Chief Construction Adviser is welcome, and RICS will continue to offer its expertise to the government to support plans for the new regulator as it takes shape.

“New rules on product safety should further raise manufacturing standards, whilst new laws empowering tenants in the social housing sector will help protect some of the most vulnerable. It is reassuring that the government plans to provide updates every quarter and RICS will support the implementation of these reforms every step of the way.”