Criticisms have been made about the government’s published response to the Grenfell Tower Report which confirmed plans to create a new single construction regulator to carry forward these recommendations.

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) welcomed these developments but has urged the government to go further and described the introduction of a licensing scheme as a “vital step”.

Commenting, FMB CEO Brian Berry said it “can’t be right” that there are currently no licensing steps required before someone can claim to be a builder.

“The development of a minimum competency scheme for builders of major construction projects was a key recommendation of the inquiry - this needs to be extended to all construction workers,” added Brian.

“If we think the situation is challenging for Tier 1 firms, the picture for small building companies and sole-traders is even less clear, given they don't have inhouse resources for training and HR.

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“The government now has the opportunity to work with the construction sector to introduce a full licensing scheme for building companies, which will help drive up standards and make construction safer for both builders and consumers.”

Paul Woodhams, managing director for building safety and refurbishment at McLaren Construction, was also critical of the government and felt the government should’ve gone further in its considerations.

"One of the biggest challenges we face from a cladding remediation perspective is appropriate licensing of construction products and contractors,” said Paul.

“A single regulator for the entire construction industry could have driven out ambiguity to set a universal standard for acceptable quality of products and competent contractors to deliver the work.

“However, the Government's commitment to reform of the regulatory regime covering construction products is one step in the right direction to ensure that all companies in the supply chain work to the same rigorous standards as main contractors.”