An “urgent and immediate” review of building regulations by the government has been called upon by the Local Government Association (LGA).
Chair Lord Gary Porter said that the government should not wait for the Grenfell disaster inquiry or coroners report to begin work.
“We have to act based on what we know now, while being prepared to revisit the building regulations again in the future if any additional lessons need to be learned,” said Porter.
“There is complexity and confusion in the current system that must be addressed and local government must play a central role in this review from the outset.
“The review needs to consider how easy it is to use, comply with and understand the building regulations and the associated documents supporting them, particularly those relating to the installation of cladding and insulation on external walls of buildings and how the building control, fire safety and planning regimes interact.”
The LGA also expressed concerns that the results of the previous cladding tests had not been released by the Building Research Establishment as they were deemed “commercially confidential.”
“If the public are going to have faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs to be out in the open,” said Lord Porter.
“We are concerned that the Building Research Establishment (BRE), carrying out safety tests, does not feel able to release the results of previous cladding system tests, as these are deemed commercially confidential. If the public is going to have faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs to be out in the open.
“It is no time for contractors or manufacturers to withhold test results from both councils and the public,” he concluded.
