Government pledges £70m to boost Registered Building Inspector workforce

Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy Samantha Dixon hailed it as a “vital step” in building 1.5 million safe homes as well as helping implement lessons from the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

“We’re boosting the building safety workforce to get more skilled building inspectors and fire engineers into the system quickly to keep people safe and unlock the new homes this country needs,” she said. 

The Grenfell Inquiry identified "inconsistent qualifications" among key professions and trades involved in building safety. Photograph: iStock

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry found that key professions and trades involved in assuring building safety lacked the necessary competence. 

It identified inconsistent qualifications, poor understanding of fire safety requirements, and an absence of reliable professional standards, contributing to unsafe decisions during the design and construction of buildings.

This latest raft of funding – split between the Building Control (£55 million) and Fire Engineering (£15 million) – is geared towards increasing professionalism and skills.
Funding for local authorities’ building control teams in England is to recruit new registered building inspectors and train them to the required standard.

In fire engineering, funding will develop higher education provision, including providing bursaries at postgraduate level and increasing research and academic development.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) was established within HSE following the Grenfell Tower inquiry but moved to a standalone organisation in January this year. 

BSR oversees the safety and standards of all buildings, with a specific focus on high-risk, high-rise residential buildings (18m+ or 7+ storeys). 

It enforces a stricter regulatory regime, manages the safety of buildings during design, construction, and occupation, and regulates the building control profession.