The Building Control Independent Panel is the government’s response to a recommendation from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report last year.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended that the government establish an independent panel to consider whether to remove commercial interest from building control and whether to move to a national authority decision model.
The panel will be chaired by Dame Judith Hackitt, who previously led the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire. She will be joined by four other with experience in the regulation and use of the building control sector: Elaine Bailey, Ken Rivers, Nick Raynsford and David Snowball.
Elaine Bailey is a member of the Industry Safety Steering Group and was chief executive of Hyde Housing between 2014 and 2019.
Ken Rivers spent 38 years of his career working at Shell and was president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He is also a member of the Industrial Safety Steering Group and before that he chaired the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations Strategic Forum.
Nick Raynsford was a Labour MP for 24 years and a housing minister under Tony Blair.
David Snowball spent his working career in the Health & Safety Executive, including 15 months as acting chief executive before his retirement. He also sits on the Industry Safety Steering Group.
Minister for building safety Alex Norris said: “The appointment of this independent panel is a significant step in our response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. We need a building control system that puts safety first and supports our plans to accelerate remediation. It must also help to deliver 1.5 million safe, high-quality homes over this Parliament, and be equipped to meet the demands of a modern construction sector.
“Their work will play a vital role in shaping a safer, more accountable building industry, and I look forward to receiving the panel’s recommendations as they take this important work forward.”
Dame Judith Hackitt said: “The panel stands ready to get to work on this important review. We will work at speed but we come at this issue with an open mind and a determination to further raise standards”.