A key focus following the Grenfell Tower fire and the Building a Safer Future reforms has been on sanctions and consequences. Would the new Building Safety Act have any teeth and if it did, would those powers be exercised? The introduction of the Building Safety Regulator reporting to the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities was a welcome move, and an important part of its function was to implement and manage a stringent regime of inspecting higher risk buildings.

Following those inspections, the regulator has express powers to order remedial works, stop non-compliant projects, impose special measures and order the replacement of key officers. There is also the newly created Recovery Strategy Unit, set up to identify and pursue firms who repeatedly refuse to fix buildings, working closely with other enforcement authorities.