Building safety minister: our work on Grenfell recommendations is real but not complete

This year marks a turning point. We are on track to complete 70% of the inquiry’s final recommendations by the end of this year. At the same time, we are pushing ahead with reforms that go beyond the letter of the inquiry – such is our determination to fix the deeper failures it laid bare.

At the heart of our approach are two principles: people and safety first, and lasting systemic change. Building safety and fire reform are central to both.

The Building Safety Regulator is now operating as a standalone body, with strengthened leadership and independence. Its work to define and continually review what constitutes a higher-risk building makes sure regulation keeps pace with real-world risk.

But effective safety cannot sit within fragmented oversight. That is why we are consulting on a new Single Construction Regulator, to replace the confusing patchwork that allowed responsibility to fall between the cracks for too long, with fatal consequences.

We are also reforming construction products regulation through the newly launched white paper, closing long-standing gaps and bringing unregulated products into scope.

Competence matters too: only properly qualified professionals should design, build and sign off homes. That vital lesson from Grenfell is now shaping the future of building control, fire engineering and construction more widely.

Protecting residents means focusing on those most at risk. From April, new regulations will require Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans in high-rise buildings. On this long-awaited reform, there will be no more delays. Vulnerable residents simply must have a clear, enforceable plan to get out safely.

We are also strengthening tenants’ rights through Awaab’s Law, a more powerful Housing Ombudsman and new expectations on respect, transparency and accountability from staff in social housing. Safety is inseparable from dignity.

And of course, remediation remains urgent. Over 2,100 buildings have now started or completed works, including almost all identified with Grenfell-style ACM cladding. Progress is real, but not complete. That is why we will legislate to accelerate remediation further.

Grenfell exposed not just technical failures, but a culture that ignored residents’ voices. Changing that culture is the hardest task of all. But with unprecedented transparency, regular public reporting and reforms that endure beyond a single parliament, we are laying the foundations for lasting change.

Nothing can undo what was lost. We cannot go back, but we can move forward and our duty is clear: to ensure government never again looks away, and that safety never again depends on chance.

Samantha Dixon, building safety minister