Five members of the independent Building Control review panel appointed

[edit] Background

On February 26, 2025 as part of the Government's response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry it announced the establishment of the independent panel to review Building Control. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended that the Government establish an independent panel to consider whether to remove commercial interest from building control and whether to move to a national authority decision model.

[edit] Member announcement

On 24 April, 2025 the government announced the appointment of five members to the Building Control Independent Panel. The panel’s role being advisory and independent. The building control system is there primarily to oversee key safety standards set in legislation and ensure that buildings are checked and safe in areas such as fire and structural safety. Following concerns raised by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, especially around conflicts of interest in the system, the appointed panel will look at whether changes are required. The panel members’ collective expertise will support a thorough and independent review of the current building control model, including on the Inquiry’s recommendations to consider the issue of commercial incentives from the system and exploring alternative options and approaches. The panel is expected to provide a report to the government in the autumn of 2025 with a response to be produced before the end of the year.

[edit] Appointed panel members

Elaine Bailey

Elaine Bailey is a member of the Industry Safety Steering Group and was formerly the CEO of Hyde Housing (2014-2019). Elaine holds several non-executive directorships, including at MJ Gleeson plc, a house builder operating in the North and Midlands; McCarthy&Stone Shared Ownership (MCSSO), a For Profit Registered Provider of older persons’ housing with a strategic partnership with Homes England; and Andium Housing, Jersey’s largest provider of sub-market value homes for rent and purchase.

Ken Rivers

Ken is a non-executive director at the HSE, alongside his role as a member of the Industrial Safety Steering Group. Prior to that he chaired the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations Strategic Forum and led the tripartite group since its inception, bringing industry and regulators together to identify and address important matters of managing major hazard in the UK. He spent 38 years of his career working at Shell, through various different positions and was President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP

Nick Raynsford was a Labour MP for 24 years. During this time he held positions as Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Minister for Construction, Minister for London and Minister of State for Local and Regional Government. The latter included responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service. Since then he has had a number of advisory and non-executive roles in the private, voluntary and public sectors. This included chairing CICAIR (CIC Approved Inspectors Register), the organisation responsible until April 2024 for registering private sector Building Control bodies. Nick is a member of the New Towns Taskforce, working with MHCLG.

Dr. David Snowball

David spent his working career in the Health and Safety Executive, joining as a Factory Inspector in 1984 and retiring 35 years later. He held senior posts in operational divisions overseeing HSE intervention and enforcement and was also responsible, as Director Regulation, for the quality of operational work. He spent 15 months as Acting Chief Executive before his retirement.He now sits on the Industry Safety Steering Group alongside Dame Judith and is a non-executive director at the Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority (Feb 2022- present).

[edit] Comments and response

Minister for Building Safety, Alex Norris MP, said:

“The appointment of this independent panel is a significant step in our response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. We need a building control system that puts safety first and supports our plans to accelerate remediation. It must also help to deliver 1.5 million safe, high-quality homes over this Parliament, and be equipped to meet the demands of a modern construction sector.Their work will play a vital role in shaping a safer, more accountable building industry, and I look forward to receiving the panel’s recommendations as they take this important work forward.”

The Chair for the Building Control Independent Panel, Dame Judith Hackitt said:

“The panel stands ready to get to work on this important review. We will work at speed but we come at this issue with an open mind and a determination to further raise standards”.

Further updates, including the panel’s Terms of Reference, will be published on GOV.UK shortly.