Whole industry must heed Hackitt - FMB
22nd May 2018

Dame Judith Hackitt’s Review into Building Regulations provides a blueprint for ensuring competence in construction which should be extended across the industry, according to the Federation of Master Builders.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive, said in response to the publication of the review: “Today’s report is the culmination of a long and thorough review into the weaknesses of the current approach to competency and compliance in the sector, weaknesses which can serve to undermine safety.

“It is a suitably serious response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Dame Judith has understandably focused the attention of the review on high rise residential buildings, but we believe strongly that some of the recommendations must be taken as a blueprint for the wider industry.

“In particular, the industry as a whole needs to develop a comprehensive approach to competence. There is an opportunity here for the whole industry to step up and ensure we have adequate levels of competence across the sector. Without this, significant parts of our industry will continue to be plagued by incompetent and unprofessional outfits.”

“Furthermore, a comprehensive competency framework should be underpinned by a licensing system for all builders and contractors operating in the construction industry. This is the only way we will ensure that a baseline for competence is both recognised and complied with. The FMB has already started a conversation about how we can put this into practice and is engaging with other industry bodies to this end. The FMB’s new Agenda, published last week, calls on the Government to introduce a licensing scheme for builders. We already know that nearly 80% of construction SMEs are in favour of introducing a licencing scheme. Licensing would remove the scourge of rogue and incompetent builders from the industry and in turn provide a much higher level of consumer protection.”