Seven firms criticised in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report could face being banned from public contracts, as the Government pledged to bring change in the wake of the fatal fire. Cladding and insulation organisations are among those which will be investigated under new powers for “failings” in relation to the west London tower’s refurbishment, Parliament was told.
The announcement came as the Government formally responded to a series of recommendations which were set out last September in the inquiry’s final report. Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick had concluded that the devastating fire, which claimed 72 lives, was the result of “decades of failure” by government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.
He said there had been “systematic dishonesty” by firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, and called out “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire-safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, criticised some firms’ “disgraceful mercenary behaviour (which) put profit before people and exploited the regulatory regime to evade accountability with fatal consequences”.
She added: “And to my disgust and their shame, some have shown little remorse and have refused to even help fix the building safety crisis that they did so much to create.”. Ms Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, said she expected “swift, decisive action and will ensure progress is reported”.
No timeline was given for when investigations under the Procurement Act might begin or be completed. In Sir Martin’s report, cladding firm Arconic and insulation firms Kingspan and Celotex faced particularly heavy criticism. Arconic was found to have “deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger” of using its cladding product, particularly on high-rise buildings.
Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began, “knowingly created a false market in insulation” for use on buildings over 18 metres, the report said. Celotex then, in an attempt to break into this market created by Kingspan, “embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market”, Sir Martin concluded.
The Government said Kingspan and Arconic will be investigated as well as former Celotex owners Saint-Gobain. Also facing investigation are fire inspectors Exova, design and build contractor Rydon, architect Studio E and subcontractor Harley Facades. In a written statement published on Wednesday, Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary Georgia Gould said: “The new Act allows us to investigate suppliers and, if certain grounds are met, to add their names to a published and centrally managed debarment list, which must be taken into account by contracting authorities in awarding new contracts and undertaking new procurements.
“We want to act swiftly and decisively and are committed, where appropriate, to pursuing meaningful action in respect of failings related to the Grenfell tragedy.”. The Government said all 58 of the inquiry’s recommendations were being accepted. Nine of the 37 recommendations directed at Government are being accepted “in principle”, with some requiring “further consideration” through consultations, it said.
A group representing some of the bereaved welcomed the commitments but said it will be paying “close attention” to how they progress. One of those being accepted in principle is a key recommendation for a single regulator for the construction industry, which the report said had become “too complex and fragmented”.
The Government said that while it is committed to establishing a single regulator, it does not believe it would be “appropriate” for that organisation to undertake testing and certification of construction products, or issue certificates of compliance.
This would “create a new conflict of interest within the regulator”, the Government said, and it will instead work to strengthen oversight of existing bodies through reforms to the construction products regime. It has launched a consultation, running until May, on regulatory reform in the sector to “improve public safety, rebuild public trust and ensure the Grenfell Tower tragedy cannot be repeated”.
The timeline for wider change is set out in phases, with a suggestion some reforms are unlikely to be delivered before 2028 – 11 years on from the fire. In its update, the Government said it is “committed to delivering meaningful change as quickly as possible” but that “given the scale of further change needed, including legislative, we intend to deliver these further reforms using a three-phased approach over the course of this Parliament”.
