The second of 61 recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report was the appointment of a permanent, independent government adviser on building safety and regulatory reform.
The position having been held on an interim basis by architect Thouria Istephan, Loughborough University professor Sergio Cavalaro has now been appointed as Chief Construction and Scientific Adviser for building safety at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Tasked with delivering the remaining inquiry recommendations and advising on regulatory reform, Prof. Cavalaro will act as a link between government, regulators, industry, professional bodies, academia and residents. The aim is essentially to mitigate the tensions and gaps between these elements to help create a new system with accountability, scrutiny and communication that will prevent a repeat of the situation that led to the Grenfell disaster in 2017.
But what should be at the top of Prof. Cavalaro’s in-tray as he begins his three-year term?
Delivering the remaining Grenfell recommendations
The number one task of the new adviser is to ensure the completion of outstanding reforms that will create a more robust regulatory framework to prevent another Grenfell tragedy from ever happening again.
After years and reams of new legislation and guidance, the big challenges here are navigating “reform fatigue” and a potential loss of momentum. The reforms introduced to date have been seismic in terms of creating the need to reconsider market norm practices and the allocation of risk.
We have seen major changes in how projects are procured, including the introduction of brand new roles and procedures for oversight and ongoing monitoring of design responsibility, but it has taken time and is an ongoing process as markets begin to shift.
Embedding a lasting culture of safety across industry and government
Prof. Cavalaro will need to implement the lessons learned from Grenfell and help to translate them into permanent behavioural and cultural change over the longer term, where safety is paramount. This needs to be done in a way that is clear and workable and doesn’t create additional elements of risk and cost that can’t be borne by the market.
As the Building Safety Regulator becomes embedded in its role and clears the backlog of approvals, is there a danger of reverting to a position where compliance becomes a procedural “nod” that lacks teeth? As always, there is a difficult line to be trodden between helpful, meaningful reform that can and must be implemented, and reams of regulatory red tape that paralyse the market.
Improving accountability, confidence and trust in the industry
Can safety be embedded within construction in such a way as to link it to productivity, so the two goals are aligned and not competing – or must profit and safety always pull in opposite directions? This is a question the sector has been grappling with for some time, and the use of modern methods of construction, with a move away from traditional adversarial procurement routes, may provide a route forward.
In order to be a success in his new role, Sergio Cavalaro will need to be a skilled diplomat who can navigate the apparently competing interests of industry, the market and regulators, particularly in an environment where major construction companies and housebuilders are being hit hard with the cost of reforms and the resulting Building Liability Orders.
For example, we have seen Ardmore Construction Group go into administration, having been embroiled in several disputes centred around cladding issues, with the Home Builders Federation calculating that the industry has so far committed more than £6 billion to remediation measures. Indeed, Barratt Redrow alone maintains a total legacy remediation provision of over £1 billion following post-Grenfell fire safety reviews and reinforced concrete frame assessments.
No-one can be under any illusions that the challenge of driving through reform in the construction industry while at the same time maintaining supply chain resilience – all against the backdrop of the government’s ambitious housebuilding targets – is a daunting one. But Prof. Cavalaro begins his tenure with the full support of everyone connected with the UK’s construction industry.
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