Profit must no longer take priority over safety, says CIOB

Institute responds to Michael Gove’s deadline for developers to fix unsafe cladding and fire risks on their buildings

The Chartered Institute of Building has called on the industry to put quality and safety before profit, after housing secretary Michael Gove read the riot act to developers over remediation work.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has given developers until 13 March to sign up to a remediation contract to fix cladding and other fire risks in high-rises they have built.

This will be enforced by a ‘responsible actors’ scheme that will effectively freeze out from the market those that have not signed up.

CIOB director of policy, external affairs and research Eddie Tuttle, said the announcement “echoes the findings by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review of building regulations and fire safety, and is one that we very much welcome”.

He added: “The Grenfell Tower fire and the subsequent public inquiry highlighted the consequences of deregulation and paved the way for the Building Safety Act. But it also revealed the extent to which profit was being prioritised over building quality and safety.

“CIOB is committed to ensuring our industry learns the lessons of the past and works to ensure those who occupy the buildings we create are safe and feel safe in their homes.”

When the announcement was made Persimmon said it intended to be the

CIOB calls for the industry to learn from the Grenfell Tower fire

Burden on business

The Home Builders Federation has been negotiating the contract with the government. It welcomed the new contract but warned that the burden could not all be put on UK businesses.

A spokesperson said: “UK housebuilders accept they have a major part to play in delivering solutions for leaseholders, have committed to carry out building safety work on all their own buildings and are paying £2.5bn to fix those built by foreign companies and other parties.

“After months of negotiations, the contract better reflects the principles of the pledge, but alongside the onerous taxes introduced by government puts a huge pressure on UK businesses.

“Government now needs to deliver on its commitment to get contributions from the numerous other parties involved in this crisis including foreign builders and providers of the cladding at the heart of this crisis and not to repeatedly take the easy option to target UK companies.” ●

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