CIOB’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase Two report

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower Fire which took place on 14 June 2017, the UK Government commissioned Sir Martin Moore-Bick to lead an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy and steps to be taken to ensure that a similar event did not occur again.

The Inquiry split its reporting into two parts, the first covering the causes of the fire and the second focusing on the events leading up to the fire including the regulatory regime in relation to high-rise buildings. The first part, referred to as the Phase One report was published on 30 October 2019, with the second part, or Phase Two report, published on 4 September 2024.

Each report sets the scene for the tragedy that took place at Grenfell Tower, paying homage to the victims and their families and importantly making recommendations of actions to be taken by both industry and government to improve safety conditions for those living in what are now defined as ‘higher-risk buildings’ (buildings over 18 metres or 7 storeys).

The UK Government has now responded to both inquiry reports, with Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP announcing that the Government would accept all 58 recommendations made in the Phase Two report.

It should be noted the previous Conservative Government accepted all 15 recommendations directed towards government from the Phase One report.

Some of the key recommendations in the Phase One report included:

• “That the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to provide their local fire and rescue service with information about the design of its external walls together with details of the materials of which they are constructed and to inform the fire and rescue service of any material changes made to them”
• “That the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to provide their local fire and rescue services with up-to-date plans in both paper and electronic form of every floor of the building identifying the location of key fire safety systems”
• “That the owner and manager of every residential building containing separate dwellings (whether or not they are high-rise buildings) carry out an urgent inspection of all fire doors to ensure that they comply with applicable legislative standards”
• “That the government develop national guidelines for carrying out partial or total evacuations of high-rise residential buildings, such guidelines to include the means of protecting fire exit routes and procedures for evacuating persons who are unable to use the stairs in an emergency, or who may require assistance (such as disabled people, older people and young children)”

Some of the key recommendations from the Phase Two report included:

• “That the government draw together under a single regulator all the functions relating to the construction industry to which we have referred”
• “That the definition of a higher-risk building for the purposes of the Building Safety Act 2022 be reviewed urgently”
• “That the government bring responsibility for the functions relating to fire safety currently exercised by MHCLG [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government], the Home Office and the Department for Business and Trade into one department under a single Secretary of State”
• “That the Secretary of State appoint a Chief Construction Adviser with a sufficient budget and staff to provide advice on all matters affecting the construction industry”
• “That a licensing scheme operated by the construction regulator be introduced for principal contractors”.

CIOB’s Response

CIOB posted an initial reaction to the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Report on 26 February 2025. We also committed to a more detailed response once we had further detail from the Government about what recommendations it would be taking forward. This has since been published here.

Our response details background to both reports released by the independent inquiry, focusing on the Phase Two report as it has more recommendations which are aimed at reforming and changing practices within the construction sector.

The response also details some of the main recommendations that will be critical to the operation of the construction sector and wider built environment. Each recommendation is accompanied by CIOB’s position and thoughts as well as what actions we can take as an organisation to help ensure these recommendations come to fruition.

As outlined in the response, we have not covered each of the 58 recommendations, but rather those that we can (or are) actively contributing on, particularly if they impact our membership or the wider public. We are, however, supportive of the intentions of other recommendations and are keen to contribute our member expertise where appropriate.

The response also outlines some of the work that CIOB has engaged in to improve building safety since the 2017 report by Professor John Cole into the defects that led to the closure of 17 schools in Edinburgh, which took place just a few months before the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower.

Some of the work highlighted includes the work of our dedicated Quality Implementation Group (QIG), our learning assessment portfolio (including codes of practice, qualifications, training courses and guides, amongst others), our recent certification offerings, mandatory CPD and our future intentions.

The full response can be found in the panel to the right of this article as well as through a link here.

Should you have any questions, or if you would like to contribute, please contact [email protected].