Building and fire safety

Communities Secretary Angela Constance has welcomed the publication of an interim report into UK building regulations and fire safety.

Dame Judith Hackitt was commissioned to carry out the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety following the Grenfell Tower fire.

The interim report looks at the culture of the construction sector and how the regulatory framework could be more effective.

The Scottish Government has worked with Dame Judith’s team and shared information from the Ministerial Working Group established to consider building regulations and fire safety in Scotland.

Ms Constance said:

“This is the first of a number of important reports, from which we can start to learn lessons from the Grenfell tragedy.  I welcome the engagement that Scottish Government officials have had with Dame Judith and her team on this report. 

“We are pleased that Dame Judith recognises that the situation in Scotland is different.  We believe our system is robust but there is always room for improvement.   We also specifically welcome the work being done and recommendations being made on building industry products and the system of accreditation, which is shared across the UK as a whole. 

“We have commissioned two building standard reviews – into fire regulations and compliance – which will ensure that our system of building standards remain clear.  The Ministerial Working Group will now look in detail at the recommendations within the interim report and ensure the scope of our reviews are consistent with the issues being considered by Dame Judith.  We look to continue our on-going engagement and will seek to work with the UK Government on a number of possible actions resulting from the report.”

Dr Paul Stollard, Chair of Fire Regulations in Building Standards Review Group, said:

“We have already made good progress on identifying where changes might be required to the fire sections of the Scottish Building Standards, with our second Review Panel meeting planned for January and our international comparison group meeting again in February. It is now very helpful to see the proposed areas of change to the English building regulations system as set out in this interim report and it appears that there might be some opportunities joint work on certification schemes which could cover the whole of the United Kingdom.”

Professor John Cole, Chair of Compliance and Enforcement in Building Standards Review Group, said:

“I welcome Dame Judith Hackitt's report. From her initial findings I recognise there are many common themes to the work I am currently undertaking for‎ the Scottish Government. In particular the need to ensure that all involved in procuring designing and constructing buildings play their part in delivering buildings compliant with regulations and are safe for building users.”

Background

More information on the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety is available online.

/groups/building-and-fire-safety-working-group/