Seven organisations criticised in wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster could be banned from bidding for public contracts, the government has said.
Cladding and insulation firms are among those set to be investigated, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said, as she announced all recommendations of a public inquiry into the fire will be met.
"The bereaved and the survivors and members of the Grenfell community are still waiting for the justice they need and deserve," Rayner said, "and justice must be done".
The government said it is already working on a list of reforms to building safety which came from the cladding crisis following Grenfell, and that it will begin implementing the changes from 2028.
The fire in the west London tower block killed 72 people in 2017. The inquiry found all their deaths were avoidable.
It concluded that the fire was the result of a chain of failures by governments, "dishonest" companies and the fire service, which lacked a strategy for dealing with high rise cladding fires.
Rayner, who is also deputy prime minister, said the Grenfell Inquiry had uncovered "serial incompetence and negligence, complacency and inaction, and blatant dishonesty and greed" which led to the fire.
She said the government was acting on its findings and would take "tough action" to reform the system and "ensure no community will ever have to face a tragedy like Grenfell ever again".
"That means greater accountability, stronger regulation, and putting residents at the heart of decision-making," she added, saying it was owed "to the memory of those who lost their lives".
Ed Daffarn, who survived the fire, told the BBC the announcement left him feeling frustrated, adding the government's intentions "may be good but the wait is torturous".
Rayner said three of the organisations set to be investigated - manufacturing companies Arconic, Kingspan, and Celotex - were found by the inquiry to have acted with "systemic dishonesty".
"Their disgraceful, mercenary behaviour put profit before people and exploited the regulatory regime to evade accountability with fatal consequences."
She also said the organisations that failed "included the government and regulators".
The department she now leads, she said, "failed to act on known risks and ignored, delayed, or disregarded matters affecting the safety of life".
The full list of seven companies set to be investigated for professional misconduct is:
- Arconic Architectural Products SAS - made cladding
- Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK Limited - in relation to its then ownership of insulation firm Celotex Limited
- Exova (UK) Limited - carried out fire risk safety assessments
- Harley Facades Limited - installed cladding
- Kingspan Insulation Limited - insulation
- Rydon Maintenance Limited - main project contractor
- Studio E Architects Limited - architects
They will be investigated using powers under the Procurement Act passed in 2023.
The government's role in failing to regulate safety in the construction industry became apparent early in the Grenfell inquiry, prompting an apology for "past failures" during the hearings.
The government will provide an update on its work to meet the inquiry's recommendations every three months.
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