In December 2021, the Northern Ireland (NI) Executive agreed to the Department of Finance (DoF) establishing an Expert Panel to review the key issues highlighted by Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and to look at the legal and policy responsibilities of NI Departments and Local Authorities for building and fire safety in NI.
The Panel was asked ‘to make recommendations to improve the NI regime for building safety; ensure a robust future regulatory system and framework; and ‘provide assurance to residents that the buildings they live in are safe’.
The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Panel can be found in the link below.
Minutes of the meetings can be found in the link below.
The Expert Panel’s report, ‘Improving Safety in High Rise Residential Buildings in Northern Ireland’, concluded in April 2023 with 15 recommendations.
The Expert Panel’s report can be found at the following link
In line with recommendation 1 of the Expert Panel’s report, the Department for Communities (DfC) will establish a team to set up a new business area and take forward the implementation of the Expert Panel’s recommendations.
You can contact the team in DfC using the following email address Info.residentialbuildingsafety@communities-ni.gov.uk