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An independent review into the safety testing of construction products will be chaired by a leading lawyer and a prominent quantity surveyor, the government has announced.
Anneliese Day QC and Paul Morrell OBE will chair the review, which will examine ways to strengthen the system of testing construction products.
The review was announced in January following revelations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that product manufacturers had potentially gamed the system when it came to safety testing.
Ms Day, of Fountain Court Chambers, has won multiple awards including several for her work within the construction and energy sectors.
Mr Morrell received an OBE for services to architecture and the built environment in 2009 and served as the government’s chief construction advisor from 2009 to 2012.
Alongside the review announcement in January, the government unveiled a new building materials regulator with the power to remove any product from the market that it considers to present a safety risk.
It came after the Grenfell Inquiry found that Kingspan K15 insulation, used on Grenfell Tower, was being installed for 14 years on thousands of buildings on the back of marketing material that the manufacturing giant has since admitted was “not representative” of the product being sold.
The inquiry has also heard how employees of Arconic, the multinational firm that made the deadly cladding panels used on Grenfell Tower, described the product in internal emails as “dangerous” while continuing to push it on the market.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has heard deeply concerning suggestions that some construction product manufacturers may have gamed the system for testing these materials and compromised the safety of residents.
“We are taking these allegations very seriously and will await the inquiry’s final recommendations – but it is clear that action is needed now to ensure products used on buildings always meet the highest safety standards.
“I am pleased to appoint Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day QC to lead this independent review of the system for testing construction products that will build on the significant progress we have already made to make buildings safer.”
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