Inside Housing reported on the views outlined in the ISSG’s latest report ‘scrutinising progress towards change post-Grenfell’, with the group believing that competence across the housing and construction sectors is ‘still a huge challenge’ and that there is a ‘lack of widespread, proactive leadership’ on building safety. The group’s second report sets out its views on the progress made by the industry ‘to implement changes to building safety’.
Other members include former Hyde Housing chief executive Elaine Bailty, L&Q resident board member Fayann Simpson and National Fire Chiefs Council protection vice chair Nick Coombe. Within the report, the group published a series of case studies ‘demonstrating good practice’ across the sector, but warned that ‘not all in the industry have embedded good practices and embraced the changes required to ensure the safety of buildings’.
It was also ‘surprised by the lack of emergence of a visible and effective leadership group to develop a unified view and commitment across all sections of the construction industry in relation to driving improved quality and safety’. The repot also raised concerns on the ‘potential impact’ on the sector of COVID-19, and feared that ‘the expected economic downturn could result in corners being cut once more and commercial pressures being used as the excuse for further poor practice and delay’.
The report criticised parts of the sector ‘for failing to provide leadership’, but it also ‘singled out for praise’ a series of other bodies, including the National Housing Federation, Vistry Partnerships, Salix Housing Association and Salford City Council. It was released over two years after Dame Judith’s review of building regulations and fire safety, in which she criticised the construction industry’s ‘race to the bottom’, and called for a new building safety regulator.
A new regulator has now been confirmed as part of the draft building safety bill, while the ISSG’s first report published in July 2019 ‘concluded that progress towards change had been slow across the building industry’. In response to the report, Building Safety Minister Lord Greenhalgh wrote to Dame Judith.
He stated in his letter: ‘The publication of the draft Building Safety Bill has now provided further clarity to industry on what is expected. It is vital that the industry is preparing and making these changes now, and I thank you for your support in driving this through the ISSG.’