Is Your Building Safe? New Rules Aim to Ensure Every Construction Product Is Properly Vetted

Nearly nine years after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed 72 lives, the government has published the Construction Products Reform White Paper — arguably the most significant step yet toward ensuring that the products going into our buildings are genuinely safe and properly regulated.

Having spent close to four decades in health and safety, I can say this is a moment many of us have been waiting for. Here’s what you need to know.

Why Are Two-Thirds of Construction Products Currently Unregulated?

It may surprise anyone outside the industry, but only around a third of construction products on the UK market are currently covered by a designated standard. The majority — from cladding components to insulation materials — can enter the supply chain without mandatory safety assessments. The Grenfell Inquiry, the Hackitt Review, and the Morrell-Day Review all identified this as a systemic failure: a regime designed to facilitate trade rather than safeguard lives.

The White Paper confronts this head-on by introducing a General Safety Requirement (GSR) that will bring every construction product within the regulatory regime. Under the GSR, manufacturers will be required to assess the safety risks of their products and take proportionate action before placing them on the market. This is a fundamental shift from a trade-focused system to a safety-led one.

What Are the Key Changes Health and Safety Professionals Need to Know?

The White Paper introduces several changes that will directly affect OSH professionals. There will be clearer accountability throughout the product lifecycle — from manufacturing and testing through to installation and use. Principal Designers will bear responsibility for ensuring that specifications are suitable and safe, while Principal Contractors must confirm correct installation.

The government also intends to establish a single construction regulator, building on the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), which became an independent body under MHCLG in January 2026. Baseline competence requirements will apply to everyone involved in designing, testing, and manufacturing construction products — with over 1,200 professionals already having completed updated competency training in the past year.

Finally, enforcement is being significantly strengthened. Local regulators have already increased formal notices by 124% and inspections by 140% compared to the period before departmental funding began — a clear sign that the days of light-touch oversight are ending.

How Does This Connect to the Grenfell Inquiry Recommendations?

The White Paper was published alongside the government’s first Annual Report on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s 58 recommendations. As of February 2026, 12 have been completed and 70% are expected to close by year-end. Over 180,000 residents have benefited from remediation across more than 2,100 buildings, and enforcement activity has surged sharply.

These are welcome steps, but 49 recommendations remain in progress with full implementation stretching to at least 2028. The Remediation Bill, which would introduce hard deadlines and criminal prosecution for non-compliant landlords, still lacks a definitive timeline.

What Should OSH Professionals Do Now?

My advice to fellow health and safety professionals is straightforward: don’t wait for the legislation to come into force before adapting your approach. The consultation on the GSR is open until 20 May 2026, and engaging with it is an opportunity to shape the regime rather than simply react to it.

In practical terms, now is the time to review how your organisation specifies, procures, and verifies construction products. Start mapping your supply chain against the incoming requirements. Products outside current designated standards will need safety risk assessments under the GSR, and getting ahead of that process will be far less disruptive than scrambling when the regulations land.

It’s also worth investing in competence development. The reforms place enormous emphasis on professional standards, and qualifications like the NEBOSH National Diploma or NEBOSH Construction Certificate will become increasingly valuable as the industry raises its expectations.

Will These Reforms Actually Make Buildings Safer?

The proposals are genuinely ambitious, but ambition and delivery are different things. Some commentators have noted that the reforms remain product-focused rather than addressing system-level risks, particularly around assembled systems like the cladding configurations that proved catastrophic at Grenfell. With approximately 28,000 manufacturers in the UK — the vast majority SMEs — enforcement and resourcing challenges are considerable.

That said, moving from a system where safety was an afterthought to one where it is the central requirement is exactly the structural change the Grenfell Inquiry demanded. The 72 people who lost their lives deserve nothing less — and it’s on all of us in the profession to hold government and industry accountable for delivering on these promises.

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