CIOB response to the government "Building a Safer Future" report

The government issued “Building a Safer Future: An Implementation Plan” on Tuesday. This is their commitment to a programme of reform following the Building Safety review. There is much in the report which echoes the CIOB recent calls, including a key statement from the Implementation Plan’s summary about working to: “achieve a culture change to create and maintain safe buildings”.

Last week the CIOB launched their own report “Improving Quality in the Built Environment” at a parliamentary reception attended by MPs and senior industry figures. The report provides an update on the work of the Construction Quality Commission, set up to identify what promotes or prevents delivery of quality in construction.

The CIOB will be examining the government’s Implementation Plan in more detail, focussing on where they can support the government in work to drive the necessary changes. The Institute was particularly pleased to see the government’s commitment to work with those already driving change. The Plan contains a key pledge which aligns with calls already being made by the CIOB and others: “Working with industry, we will drive culture change to increase responsibility for building safety, including by improving the competence of those undertaking building work.”

At last week’s reception Paul Nash FCIOB, Chair of the Construction Quality Commission, said: “Quality, or rather the failure of quality, is arguably the most important issue facing the construction industry today.” Nash, a CIOB Past President, announced the forthcoming Code of Quality Practice, the intention of which is to set standards for the industry to achieve and “provide practitioners with the tools and processes needed to deliver quality on construction projects.”

Chris Blythe OBE, Chief Executive of the CIOB, said in response to the government’s Implementation Plan: “There is a lot in this comprehensive document which supports the work the CIOB and their partner organisations - including RICS and RIBA - have been doing. We will now examine and absorb the detail in the document, pull together all the different aspects of quality in construction that we have been working on, and work with government on the next steps to create and implement the framework they want in place to ensure building safety now and in the future.”

Our full report can be found here: Improving Quality in the Built Environment