Private companies should release results of cladding tests, says LGA chair Lord Porter

Lord Porter

Lord Porter

The Local Government Association (LGA) calling on the government to launch an urgent review of building regulations in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 80 people.

The LGA believes there is a need to act now rather than wait for the outcomes of the planned public inquiry chaired by Sir?Martin Moore-Bick and coroners’ investigations. The association is also concerned about how tests conducted on building materials for suppliers are not shared because they are deemed “commercially confidential”.

Lord Porter, LGA chairman, said that the private companies conducting the tests on cladding in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire should make the results public.

Porter issued the following statement today: “Following on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we want the government to begin an urgent and immediate review of building regulations. We cannot wait for the result of the public inquiry or coroner’s report before this review is started. 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.

“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.

“Councils will do whatever it takes to ensure our residents are all safe in their homes. We have been clear all along that entire cladding panels and the insulation behind them need to be fire tested together as a system, rather than just the core of the panels on their own, and are also pleased these much-needed changes to the testing process will now happen. It is vital that we get this right and this whole-system testing needs to happen as soon as possible.

“We are concerned that the Building Research Establishment (BRE), carrying out safety tests, does not feel able to release the results of previous cladding system tests, as these are deemed 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. It is no time for contractors or manufacturers to withhold test results from both councils and the public.

“The industry and BRE needs to waive this confidentiality in the public interest to assist the government and councils in gathering as complete a picture as possible of what is and is not acceptable in cladding systems. These are exceptional circumstances when not only the safety of thousands of residents, but also the peace of mind of many more, is at stake.”