Building Safety Regulator 2026-02-23
2026-02-23
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The Building Safety Regulator's performance has been under scrutiny due to delays in approving new builds and remediation plans, affecting construction projects and residents' safety.
What progress his Department has made on reforming the Building Safety Regulator?
On 27 January, the Building Safety Regulator became an arm's length body under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This was a major step towards creating a single construction regulator. The BSR continues to make strong progress on overhauling its operating model.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The Mayor of London's target for building new homes in London is not being met due to delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator, impacting investment and employment.
Does the Minister agree that ensuring that the regulator operates efficiently is paramount if we are to deliver on housing targets and support the UK housing sector?
The Government recognised last summer that the Building Safety Regulator needed to be reformed and brought in new leadership, and there has been a marked improvement in performance. Performance data is published monthly, so there is transparency on how the Building Safety Regulator is performing.
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Assessment & feedback
Does not explicitly agree with the questioner's statement about importance of efficiency for housing targets
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
Residents of Sundowner Court in Southampton have been displaced for over a year due to serious fire safety issues, and the Building Safety Regulator's delays are exacerbating their hardship.
What improvements can the Minister promise that this Government will make to speed up those approvals and end the misery for my residents?
MHCLG and the Building Safety Regulator accept that many applicants have experienced delays, and we recognise that having to wait 40 weeks for decisions is unacceptable. That is why the BSR has established a dedicated external remediation team.
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Assessment & feedback
Does not make specific promises about improving approval times or alleviating resident suffering beyond acknowledging delays are unacceptable
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
In London, the Building Safety Regulator's performance has led to a significant drop in new-build applications and a high percentage of invalid or rejected decisions, hindering house building.
When announcing reforms to the Building Safety Regulator last June, the Secretary of State's Department promised to enhance the review of newbuild applications, unblock delays and boost sector confidence. But in London, where demand is highest, house building has fallen to its lowest level since 2009.
In the last 12 weeks, 11,962 new-build homes have been approved, allowing construction to start. The BSR is moving forward. We will continue to press it to do better.
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Assessment & feedback
Does not address why reforms have not improved the situation in London beyond noting recent approvals
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The Building Safety Regulator's performance in London is hindering house building despite claims of improvements.
With all due respect, the Government need to do an awful lot better than that. They hide behind the claim that there is a clear downward trend in live gateway 2 applications, but the reality, according to the Government's own statistics across all categories, is that the number of live applications in London has fallen by a mere 6% in the last 12 weeks.
Performance continues to improve steadily across gateway 2, and decisions are being made increasingly quickly and at higher volumes. We will continue to press the BSR to do better, faster.
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Assessment & feedback
Does not admit hindering building or supporting Sadiq Khan's efforts beyond stating performance improvement is a priority
Response accuracy