Consolidate fire safety functions under single department
Grenfell Tower Inquiry · Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report · Issued 4 September 2024 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
That the government bring responsibility for the functions relating to fire safety currently exercised by MHCLG, the Home Office and the Department for Business and Trade into one department under a single Secretary of State. (113.8)
Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report · 4 Sep 2024 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The government's annual report stated all fire functions were transferred from the Home Office to MHCLG effective 1 April 2025, with full staff transfer on 1 July 2025 (Annual Report on Progress, MHCLG, February 2026).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
The government accepts this recommendation. Fire safety related functions will move from the Home Office to MHCLG. The National Regulator for Construction Products in the Department for Business and Trade already reports to MHCLG's Secretary of State, and we will continue to look at consolidation in the context of the report's wider recommendations on institutional reform.
UK Government · 16 Jan 2025 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
The government accepts this recommendation. Fire safety related functions will move from the Home Office to MHCLG. The National Regulator for Construction Products in the Department for Business and Trade already reports to MHCLG's Secretary of State, and we will continue to look at consolidation in the context of the report's wider recommendations on institutional reform.
UK Government · 26 Feb 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Feb 2026 Government transferred all fire functions from Home Office to MHCLG effective 1 April 2025, with full staff transfer on 1 July 2025 and final transfer of budgets in January 2026. The government exceeded the recommendation scope by transferring all fire functions rather than solely fire safety responsibilities. Recommendation fully discharged. Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.