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Dame Judith Hackitt has been forced to defend her report before its publication later this morning after criticisms that it will fall short of calling for a complete ban of flammable materials in cladding systems.

Speaking on Radio 4鈥檚 Today programme, Hackitt, who is heading a government review of building regulations and fire safety, said reform needs to be about 鈥渕ore than a ban on cladding systems鈥�.

Instead she said reforms need to involve 鈥渨holesale culture change鈥� in the construction industry and 鈥渁 regulatory system that ensures that anyone who makes shortcuts are stopped before those buildings are designed or commissioned鈥�.

She said: 鈥淭here are no clear assignments of responsibility, we have to put in place a new system that holds people to account鈥� but also a much stronger regulatory regime that ensures that those who try to take shortcuts or do not do what they are responsible for are held to account and see tougher sanctions as a result of that.鈥�

The RIBA is among many organisations to call for a complete ban of combustible materials in construction, but Hackitt dismissed this argument saying: 鈥淭here鈥檚 something seriously wrong with the regulatory system鈥� if I thought it was a simple as simply banning cladding material this would have been a much easier exercise. This is a broken system and it needs to be fixed.鈥�

She asserted the problem was not that the current building regulations allowed the use of combustible materials but rather the fact the guidance was open to interpretation.

She said: 鈥淚鈥檓 very clear that the regulations and the guidance that exists today already says that the only type of cladding that you can use on high rise buildings must be of limited combustibility or must be subject to a full test.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know of any systems containing combustible materials which have passed that test so given that those are the standards that exists today it鈥檚 clear to me that to make those effective you have to go beyond specifying what can and can鈥檛 be used. You have to put gateways in place that hold those people to account and pick them up if they do try to short cut the system.鈥�

She added: 鈥漈he guidance needs to be much clearer, less open to interpretation, we know that some of the misinterpretation occurs because people look at things for other reasons than [safety] 鈥� they forget or overlook the need for fire safety.

鈥淢y investigation has determined that there are people out there taking shortcuts, cutting costs and not taking responsibility for building buildings that are safe for people to live in.鈥�

When pressed on why she has not called for an outright ban in addition to her other recommendations she added: 鈥淎s part of fixing the system I am already calling for greater clarity around what can and cannot be used. The guidance already says you can only use materials of limited combustibility or materials that have been fully tested. It is clear from Grenfell and from the other tests that have been done that despite the guidance currently saying that people were [using] other materials.鈥�

She described her recommendations as providing a very robust system that would have prevented the type of materials seen on Grenfell 鈥渇rom getting on to the building in the first place鈥�

Asked if Grenfell survivors and the families of those who died would be disappointed by the report, she said she recognised 鈥渢heir level of concern and distress about this鈥� and she would hope that  they will realise it is about more than simply issuing 鈥渁 ban on certain materials鈥�.

She said: 鈥淐ladding is one issue, there are many other features, many other shortcuts out there that could result in other disasters in the future which we need to address as part of this and it needs a whole system change.鈥�

The final report from the Hackitt Review is expected to be published at 9.30am today.