Grenfell industry response group endorsed by construction leaders

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has given its backing to the industry group established to respond to the Grenfell Tower disaster. The government has formed the response group, with the Construction Industry Council (CIC), Build UK and the Construction Products Association (CPA), to lead work likely to include industry advice for a full government review of building fire safety design and regulations.

Chair of the CLC, Andrew Wolstenholme, has welcomed the formation of the group as indication of the industry's ability and willingness to work together quickly when needed and urged the whole sector to get behind it. 

"On behalf of the Construction Leadership Council, I welcome the establishment of the industry response group following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower. The scale of the response necessary from the sector to address building safety is significant and the industry will need to work together to deliver this. The CIC, Build UK and the CPA are the right organisations to lead this group and I hope the whole construction sector will fully support their efforts," Wolstenholme said.

The Grenfell industry response group (IRG), announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government last week, will complement the work of the Independent Expert Advisory Panel (IEAP) set up by government in the immediate aftermath of the fire to advise on immediate steps needed to ensure building safety.

Government has commissioned the Building Research Establishment to test the fire behaviour of different types of aluminium composite cladding in combination with various forms of insulation. The IRG has been set up with the aim of coordinating a rapid response once the results of BRE's investigations can be revealed.

The IRG will:

• provide essential advice on possible solutions for particular types of buildings to ensure homes, offices and public buildings are safe;
• provide advice on better ways of building and latest methods of construction and ensure access to necessary technical expertise when required;
• help mobilise industry for a major programme of building fire-safety alterations, by acting as a focal point for government-industry communication;
• advise government on relevant sub-sectors of industry, their expertise and capacity to deliver work at pace.