As the year draws to a close, it is once again time to look back at the top construction news of 2024 for PBC Today.

The UK government’s 2029 deadline for removing unsafe cladding marks a significant turning point in addressing fire safety concerns post-Grenfell. Building owners who fail to meet the deadlines for unsafe cladding remediation may face fines or imprisonment.

The Government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan sets out three objectives to have all high rise and mid-rise buildings with unsafe cladding made safe by the end of 2029.

BSI have revealed when they will publish a new fire safety standard update. Learn more about the update and publication date here.

BESA has released a revised version of its industry guidance DW145-'Installation of Fire Dampers and Smoke Dampers', updating statutory requirements in the installation of fire dampers in buildings.

Following the hard-hitting findings of Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Gill Hancock, head of technical content at the Association for Project Management, says that cultural change will be just as, if not more, important than new regulations.

An NAO report and MHCLG investigation has found around half a million pounds has been lost to fraud from the cladding fund. Learn more here.

The NAO has released a report detailing how far behind in cladding remediation the government has fallen. Find more details here.

A parliamentary investigation into cladding remediation post-Grenfell is being launched. Find out more about the purpose of the enquiry here.

Seven years after the tragic Grenfell fire, Mike Leonard, visiting professor at Birmingham City University’s Centre for Future Homes is calling for a united response from the UK housing industry to the failures outlined in the Grenfell Inquiry’s final report

A CIAT briefing has been published, outlining recommendations for best practices for professionals in architectural technology after Grenfell.

At Build Warranty, we have been closely monitoring the impact of the Grenfell Inquiry on the construction sector, particularly in relation to safety, accountability, and the growing demand for reputable structural warranties.

The chief executive of the UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (CARES) has said that paper-based certification can no longer be relied on after the failings that led to Grenfell, calling for "secure, fully digital formats".

The UK construction industry is reflecting on the findings of the Phase 2 Grenfell Inquiry report, which found "systemic dishonesty" from both building control professionals and manufacturers.

The final report from the Grenfell Inquiry contains 1,700 pages documenting the failings that led to the 2017 fire, as well as recommendations for Government and industry.

The latest government data shows that there are 2,300 residential buildings 11m or higher that still need remediation work on unsafe cladding.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published their Building Safety Report, analysing safety ahead of the final Grenfell report.

A major incident saw a fire causing the mass evacuation of the Spectrum Building in Dagenham, London, over the weekend, as it underwent construction work.

The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission and RIBA have opened up submissions to select the team that will design the future memorial on the site of Grenfell Tower.

Remediation works on 1,088 of the 4,374 buildings identified in England with dangerous cladding have now been completed, according to the DLUHC.

On the seventh anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, Quelfire looks back at the changes brought about in the built environment as a result of the tragedy- and looks to the future.

As a date is set for the publication of the phase 2 report on the Grenfell Tower fire for 4th September, Metropolitan Police have confirmed they do not expect to begin prosecutions until 2027 at the earliest.

The UN Human Rights Committee has called on the UK Government to do more to remediate unsafe cladding, describing the circumstances that led to the Grenfell fire as "potential violations of the right to life and human dignity".

The team leading the Grenfell Tower Inquiry have confirmed that the report will not be published before the seventh anniversary of the fire.

Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety, Lee Rowley MP, spoke at a debate on building safety enforcement on Tuesday 26th March.

The government will not set a deadline for people to share golden-thread information with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).