The UK construction and built environment industries must accelerate efforts to embed a genuine culture of safety, accountability and competence if they are to deliver the lasting improvements envisioned in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, according to a new report published by the Building Safety Regulator.
The fifth report from the Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG), Building Safety: The Industry Safety Steering Group’s Fifth Report for the Secretary of State and the Minister for Building Safety, assesses progress made across the sector and concludes that, while there are examples of good practice, the pace of cultural change remains uneven and significant work still lies ahead.
The report is the first published since the Phase 2 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and argues that the inquiry’s findings should act as a catalyst for renewed commitment throughout the built environment. The ISSG stresses that improving building safety is not simply a matter of complying with regulations; it requires a fundamental shift in behaviours, leadership and organisational culture across the entire supply chain.
For organisations involved in specialist access, maintenance and engineering services, the report’s conclusions are particularly relevant. Contractors working at height, maintaining façades, carrying out inspections or delivering critical maintenance activities all have an important role to play in ensuring buildings remain safe throughout their operational life.
The Steering Group highlights that culture change cannot be achieved through legislation alone. Instead, it requires organisations to take ownership of safety, encourage open communication, promote learning from mistakes and ensure that competence remains a priority at every level of the business. Leaders, it says, must create environments where people feel able to raise concerns without fear and where decisions consistently prioritise safety over commercial pressures.
The report also identifies competence as one of the cornerstones of a safer built environment. While significant progress has been made in developing competence frameworks and guidance since the introduction of the Building Safety Act, the ISSG believes there is still considerable variation in how these principles are being adopted across different sectors of the industry.
For SAEMA members, this reinforces the importance of ongoing training, robust management systems and investment in professional development. Demonstrating competence is increasingly becoming not just a regulatory expectation but also a commercial advantage, with clients placing greater emphasis on evidence that contractors possess the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to undertake work safely.
The report also underlines the need for greater collaboration across the construction and maintenance sectors. Building safety depends on effective communication between clients, designers, principal contractors, specialist contractors and those responsible for maintaining buildings throughout their lifecycle. Information must be shared effectively, responsibilities clearly understood and organisations willing to work together to identify and manage risks before they become incidents.
Importantly, the ISSG warns against viewing cultural change as a finite project. Instead, it describes building safety as a process of continuous improvement requiring sustained commitment from businesses of all sizes. Organisations should regularly review their own cultures, seek feedback from employees and supply chains, and be prepared to adapt their practices as lessons emerge and expectations evolve.
These recommendations align closely with the values promoted throughout the specialist access and maintenance sector, where safe systems of work, competent personnel and effective planning have long been recognised as essential elements of successful project delivery. However, the report suggests there is still an opportunity for every organisation to challenge itself by asking whether safety is genuinely embedded in everyday decision-making or whether it risks becoming another compliance exercise.
As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve, the message from the Industry Safety Steering Group is clear: culture matters just as much as compliance. Technical competence, effective leadership and open communication are all essential ingredients in creating safer buildings and restoring public confidence in the built environment.
For SAEMA members, the report serves as a timely reminder that maintaining high professional standards is not simply about meeting legal obligations. It is about contributing to a culture in which everyone involved in the construction, maintenance and management of buildings accepts responsibility for safety and works collaboratively to drive continuous improvement across the industry.
The full report, Building Safety: The Industry Safety Steering Group’s Fifth Report for the Secretary of State and the Minister for Building Safety, is available on GOV.UK. Read the report