Budget-inspired building bonanza may be bold, but it’s not without risk

The country needs the government’s bold investment plans on building and regeneration to work. However, we can’t afford them to succeed at any cost, either morally or financially.

If last month’s Grenfell Tower inquiry report told us anything, it’s that people’s safety must always come first. The casual, sloppy attitudes to building and fire safety risks that contributed to the Grenfell disaster must never be allowed to creep back in.

It means safety should be ‘designed in’ right from the concept and planning stage, and maintained throughout construction. It should be doubled down on during any remedial or renovation work and monitored throughout a building’s use. It must be checked by a new, post-Grenfell building safety regulator that is properly resourced.

Of the 138 workers who were killed in work-related accidents in Britain in 2023-2024, 51 worked in the construction industry. That’s more than double the number of deaths in agriculture, forestry and fishing, the sector with the second highest fatality rate.

We must continue to invest in managing the health and safety risks that construction workers face. These have to be reduced, not allowed to rise even higher.

Part of the required control measures includes competency. The skills, safety awareness and competencies of all workers on every building site must be in place and maintained. The government’s building bonanza could lead to a construction skills shortage. However, this must not drive a race to the bottom in terms of skill levels and working conditions.

Such short-sighted corner-cutting would be a disaster for workers, the construction sector, our economy and our international reputation.