Dame Judith Hackitt criticises companies trying to “game the system” on building safety, says the product testing system is “rotten”, and calls for government leadership, at the annual Sir James Wates lecture.
The first Building Safety Regulator (BSR) prosecution is “only a matter of time”, according to Dame Judith Hackitt, because of companies trying to “game the system” on building safety.
Speaking at the annual Sir James Wates lecture, organised by CIOB, Hackitt pulled no punches in a sobering speech, criticising the lack of behavioural change in construction, a key theme of her 2018 post-Grenfell report Building A Safer Future. She said an “appalling attitude continues to prevail”, despite the 2022 Building Safety Act now being in force and the recommendations of the Grenfell Inquiry report.
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“I feel strongly that it is time for us to name and shame those who continue to try to game the new system,” Hackitt said, adding that when a prosecution does happen, it may "galvanise a few more into action".
She noted that planning gateway one, introduced through the Building Safety Act, had “put the brakes on more than 50% of applications in the very early days of its introduction. This has now dropped, I’m pleased to say, but it's still running at 20%, which feels high to me. There are still 20% of applications going in at planning gateway one where people are seeing if they can get away with it.”
Common failings, Hackitt continued, included submitting floorplans as designs and a lack of early engagement of fire engineers. “One application received by BSR simply said, ‘I don’t know why I have to do this. It complies!’,” she added.
The lecture was titled ‘In Search of the Leaders’ and Hackitt said she was making a plea for leaders on building safety to emerge from the industry.
“I’ve spoken to companies large and small who do ‘get it’. I applaud them for what they're doing and feel that they deserve greater recognition,” she commented.
Dame Judith Hackitt – in quotes
On product testing
“One of my greatest frustrations is the lack of progress on assuring construction products. Last year’s lecture was given by Paul Morrell on this very subject, and he provided a comprehensive view of what needs to be addressed to establish a robust and reliable product testing and assurance regime.
“The Inquiry report could not be clearer that this rotten system needs to be fixed and in a robust way. The voluntary schemes which have been developed so far are laudable and I applaud the people who put in the effort, but they're not sufficient.
“We need to increase testing capacity. We need the testing and assurance to be independent and mindful of the crucial role that it plays as part of a regulatory framework, and we need to remove the perceived obstacle around CE markings. It should be something that worries all of you, with the duty that you have to demonstrate safe buildings.”
On increased regulation
“The Grenfell Inquiry report prescribes yet more regulation, on top of the Building Safety Act – licensing, tying the industry up in bureaucracy. There is scathing criticism in the report of deregulation. It talks about warnings that were repeatedly ignored and opportunities to act that were not taken.
“Let us remind ourselves what regulation is actually there for. It is to drive different behaviours. I have seen and have been part of other industries who have found themselves in similar positions, in the wake of a tragic or catastrophic event. The difference is that they have chosen to come together to demonstrate collective leadership and responsible behaviour, to be part of the solution, rather than continuing to be perceived as the problem.
“The Inquiry report has an interesting recommendation about the need for a single, super regulator. I have serious reservations about that, because I think it's a distraction. What we need right now is focused effort to get the BSR properly resourced and working effectively in its domain, and similar focus on creating a robust new regime for product regulation.”
On government leadership
“I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was once the norm for more than 150 people to lose their lives in this sector every single year. People would simply say things like, well, it's a dangerous industry, we can't do anything about it. What did it take to shift that? Well, many things, but a notable one was a summit meeting back in the early 2000s with the then deputy prime minister John Prescott – who passed away last month – who shook the industry out of that presumption that things could not be changed.
“One of my personal pleas to the new government in response to the Grenfell Inquiry, will be to seek another summit like the Prescott one – but this time focused on building safety. Real and genuine commitment to being part of leading this new approach should, in my view, be a condition of being involved in building the 1.5 million new homes the government has committed to.”
