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LGA calls for ‘urgent and immediate’ review of regulations

Councils have called for an “urgent and immediate” review of building regulations ahead of the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster.

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LGA calls for ‘urgent and immediate’ review of regulations

In a statement released today the Local Government Association (LGA) said the government should not wait for the inquiry or coroner’s report to begin the work.

“We have to act based on what we know now, while being prepared to revisit the building regulations again in the future if any additional lessons need to be learned,” said Lord Gary Porter, chair of the LGA.

“There is complexity and confusion in the current system that must be addressed and local government must play a central role in this review from the outset.

“The review needs to consider how easy it is to use, comply with and understand the building regulations and the associated documents supporting them, particularly those relating to the installation of cladding and insulation on external walls of buildings and how the building control, fire safety and planning regimes interact.”

The LGA’s call echoes Inside Housing’s Never Again campaign, which calls on government to “update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry”.

The BBC’s Newsnight programme has reported a major review of building regulations to be imminent due to anxiety among officials about the widespread installation of flammable panels.

Responding to an Inside Housing question last month, local government minister Marcus Jones said the government would “respond urgently” if the investigation into the fire revealed the need for “immediate action”.

The LGA also said it is “concerned” that the Building Research Establishment has not released the results of previous cladding tests as these are considered “commercially confidential”.

“If the public are going to have faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs to be out in the open,” said Lord Porter.

It also called on the government to complete testing on the flammability of six ‘whole system’ varieties of building insulation “as soon as possible”.

These tests were announced a fortnight ago but the Department for Communities and Local Government confirmed this week that they had not yet completed, and was unable to give a date for the expected completion.

Earlier today, communities secretary Sajid Javid drastically revised down the number of buildings with flammable aluminium composite material panels from 530 to 240.

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