Construction Products Reform White Paper

The Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017 led to a devastating loss of life and laid bare systemic failures in the mechanisms designed to safeguard homes and the built environment. The tragedy revealed a pervasive crisis in the United Kingdom’s (UK) construction products regulatory system.

Construction products are a foundational element of the built environment. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry, alongside independent reviews by Dame Judith Hackitt and Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day KC, revealed a construction products regulatory system that demonstrably failed to safeguard public safety. Unethical manufacturers were able to exploit systemic weaknesses with appalling consequences at Grenfell and for the thousands of people who have found themselves in homes clad with unsafe materials. There is a compelling case for fundamental and system-wide reform.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published the Construction Products Reform Green Paper in February 2025, alongside the government response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report.^{[footnote 1]} This white paper responds to the green paper consultation and confirms an ambitious programme of reforms that are essential for public safety, critical to unlocking investment and economic growth, reducing trade friction and boosting productivity, and to the delivery of high-quality homes, other buildings and infrastructure.

Reforms will mean a clear, predictable and proportionate regulatory framework that provides long-term stability, supporting a competitive, competent and confident construction products sector. For residents and building users, these reforms will provide the reassurance that products have been made, selected and used with safety at the fore. Developers will have the confidence that the construction products they use will be safe and of high quality and they can avoid the risk of costly remediation