Building remediation hindered by “deep-rooted flaws” warns NFCC

Launching its Remediation Position Statement, the NFCC has urged Government ministers to establish a centrally co-ordinated programme designed to tackle compliance, funding, accountability and workforce shortages, in tandem noting that anything less will leave critical safety gaps unaddressed.

The NFCC has welcomed the intent of the Government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan, which aims to complete the remediation of all high-rise buildings (ie those over 18 metres tall) by 2029 and medium-rise buildings (ie those of 11 metres-plus in height) by 2031 (with progress expected by 2029). However, major barriers remain.

The sheer scale of the challenge and significant data gaps continue to hinder progress. Recent Government estimates of the cohort of affected buildings have fluctuated between 5,900 and 12,000, with nearly two-thirds of the 5,554 buildings in the public remediation portfolio still incomplete. The Government currently estimates the number to be circa 9,000.

Funding is “fragmented and inconsistent”. Current schemes often cover only cladding, which the NFCC feels is leaving other serious defects unaddressed. With multiple funding streams and varying eligibility by tenure, height and materials, many buildings remain in limbo.

Fire and Rescue Services face their own pressures. Depending on the final number of buildings within scope, the NFCC estimates that it would cost between £29.86 million (for 5,900 buildings) and £61.77 million (for 12,000 buildings), with a current working estimate of £46.11 million (9,000 buildings), to inspect all buildings that may require remedial work. This comes at a time when many Fire and Rescue Services face real-terms budget cuts. This could impact their ability to oversee other high-risk premises such as hospitals and care homes, for example.

Stalling progress         

Workforce shortages are also stalling progress. Skilled staff are in short supply, with fewer than 30 fully competent fire engineers resident within English Fire and Rescue Services. These roles demand years of training, while capacity has been further reduced by staff moving to the private sector. For clarity, fire safety and building protection staff comprise just 2.7% of the Fire and Rescue Service workforce in England.

The wider construction sector also finds itself under considerable strain, with a shortfall of 250,000 workers (according to the Chartered Institute of Building) coupled with a rising demand for new homes and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the NFCC’s calls for a cross-departmental Construction Skills Strategy designed to address shortages in key roles “have gone unanswered”.

NFCC chair Phil Garrigan commented: “The Grenfell Tower fire was a national tragedy that exposed fundamental flaws in how we design, build, manage and regulate our homes. Fire and Rescue Services have played a vital role in making buildings safer, but enforcement alone cannot fix a broken system.”

Garrigan continued: “Eight years on from Grenfell, progress is not where it should be. We must tackle the root causes: fragmented oversight, weak regulation and chronic gaps in the workforce, funding and data. Fire risk must be embedded into every stage of building safety rather than being left to emergency response.”

Further, Garrigan asserted: “Underpinning all of this must be tougher regulation. The Grenfell Tower fire showed us, in the most devastating way, what happens when Building Regulations are too weak to protect people. We cannot allow that lesson to be ignored. The Government must implement the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Panel’s recommendations in full and strengthen regulation to ensure no community is ever put at such risk again.”

Position Statement

The NFCC’s Remediation Position Statement calls on the Government to:

*Create a centrally-led, risk-based remediation programme, with clear roles, responsibilities and timelines

*Develop a construction skills strategy designed to tackle the shortage of fire engineers, surveyors, risk assessors and related trades

*Keep funding under review to make sure it covers both internal and external defects, without passing costs to leaseholders

*Urgently review Building Regulations guidance such that safety standards are realistic, enforceable, based on risk and don’t result in a future remediation crisis

*Clarify recently introduced enforcement powers so that the Building Safety Regulator can co-ordinate action effectively

*Implement the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Panel’s Phase 2 recommendations through the regulation of relevant professions, a large-scale product testing regime and publicly available compliance data