The UK Government announced in January of this year that it was commissioning an independent review into the construction products testing regime in the UK, to recommend how abuse of this testing system can be prevented.

The experts to lead this review were recently announced on 20 April 2021 and they are:

• Paul Morrell OBE (Chair of the review); and
• Annelise Day QC.

The announcement notes that:

“The panel will engage with a wide range of stakeholders to seek their views on how the system of safety testing of construction products could be improved and will report later this year with recommendations.” 

The terms of reference for the panel are also available and set out the context and focus of the independent review which is to answer the question:

“How should the UK system for testing the safety of construction products and the use of data from the system be strengthened, to inspire confidence that those products are safe and perform as labelled and marketed when incorporated into construction work?” 

This question is not limited to those products intended for use in high rise residential buildings and will apply to all products used in the construction sector. The review panel’s report is expected to be submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in Summer 2021, and the government has said that they will publish the report and a response to it as soon as practicable.

There will no doubt be further updates in this area and we look forward to reviewing the panel’s report, and any further updates from the Government on this topic and related areas of building safety.