Second Quarterly Report Published On Implementing Grenfell Tower Inquiry Recommendations

The UK Government has released its second quarterly progress update on the implementation of the Phase 2 recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Since the intiial progress report report published in May, the Government has completed two recommendations related to Phase 1 Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (recommendations 59 and 61), requiring high-rise building managers to provide evacuation plans to the fire service and store them in an information box. Of the 61 total recommendations, 58 are in progress and 3 have been completed.

It is expected to take at least four years to fully deliver on all recommendations, given the complexity of reforms, stakeholder consultation, and legislative timetables.

In June, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced changes to the Building Safety Regulator. The reforms pave the way for the creation of a single construction regulator. The changes include bringing in new leadership and recruiting more than 100 members of staff by the end of the year to enhance operations, and implementing a new Fast Track Process for existing newbuild cases and remediation decisions.

In July, the Government published an update to its December Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) setting out progress on fixing buildings faster, and additional steps to remove barriers, strengthen accountability and speed up remediation. In addition, it published its Plan for a decade of social and affordable housing renewal, which aims to deliver around 300,000 homes through the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, with at least 60% for social rent.

In the same month, the Building Safety Regular appointed an expert panel to support and inform the fundamental review of the Building Regulations guidance, known as the Approved Documents. The panel will provide interim findings in spring 2026 and a final report in summer 2026, including recommendations on how guidance can better support designers to demonstrate compliance with building regulations.

In September 2025, the Minister for Building Safety appointed Thouria Istephan as interim Chief Construction Adviser for a 12-month period, until September 2026. From 2019 and 2024, she served as a panel member for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, where she identified the systemic failures that led to the tragedy and the reforms needed to prevent future harm. Before this, Thouria spent decades at leading international design and architectural practices, where she held senior roles including Construction Design Management Manager, partner and Technical Design Deputy across major projects and sectors.

New regulations for electrical safety in social housing were also laid in Parliament in June. Landlords must carry out electrical safety checks at least every five years and test electrical appliances they provide. The requirements will come into force from November 2025 for new tenancies and May 2026 for existing tenancies.

A new regulatory standard for the competence and conduct of social housing staff will come into force in October 2026, followed by a three-year transition period before senior housing managers and executives must have or be working towards a relevant qualification. The transition period will be four years for registered providers with fewer than 1,000 homes.

Following a consultation on the Construction Products Reform Green Paper which closed in May 2025, the Government expects to publish a white paper on construction products reform before spring 2025, including policy on test data, the construction library, and oversight of conformity assessment, as a key step in progressing associated Inquiry recommendations (13, 14 and 24).

Read more: www.gov.uk/government/publications/grenfell-tower-inquiry-government-progress-report/progress-report-summary-update