The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced the members who will make up its independent panel for building control
In line with the government’s response to the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report on 26 February 2025, the purpose of the newly formed Building Control Independent Panel is to review the current building control system.
Primarily there to “oversee key safety standards set in legislation and ensure that buildings are checked and safe in areas such as fire and structural safety”, concerns around the building control model were raised by the Inquiry team, particularly around “conflicts of interest in the system”.
As part of its report, the Inquiry team recommended that the government establish an independent panel to consider the following:
- whether to remove commercial interest from building control
- whether to move to a national authority decision model.
As previously reported by the FPA, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Building Safety, Fire, and Local Growth at MHCLG, Alex Norris MP confirmed the panel would “assess and bring forward ideas on building control”. Addressing an HCLG Committee on 1 April, he revealed Dame Judith Hackitt would lead the panel:
“She leads an industry group, a coalition of the willing within the construction industry who want to raise and change standards,” he said.
“She is going to pull her group of people from that, so it will be senior leaders from the industry who have put their hands up and said the industry needs to change. That is very positive.”
The government has since confirmed the appointment of four further members to the panel: Elaine Bailey, Ken Rivers, Rt Hon Nick Raynsford, and Dr David Snowball. The “collective expertise” of the panel’s members will “support a thorough and independent review of the current building control model, including on the Inquiry’s recommendations to consider the issue of commercial incentives from the system and exploring alternative options and approaches”.
In an announcement made on 24 April 2025, Norris called the panel a “significant step” in the government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
“We need a building control system that puts safety first and supports our plans to accelerate remediation. It must also help to deliver 1.5 million safe, high-quality homes over this Parliament, and be equipped to meet the demands of a modern construction sector,” he said.
“Their work will play a vital role in shaping a safer, more accountable building industry, and I look forward to receiving the panel’s recommendations as they take this important work forward.”
Panel chair, Dame Judith Hackitt said: “The panel stands ready to get to work on this important review. We will work at speed, but we come at this issue with an open mind and a determination to further raise standards”.
The panel is expected to provide a report to the government in autumn 2025.