The government minister in charge of building safety gave her full confidence in the new leadership of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to work more closely with the industry and clear the backlog of Gateway 2 applications by the end of the year.
Speaking at a debate in Westminster Hall in October, Samantha Dixon, the parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said that the new leadership “is already implementing significant operational changes based on their extensive industry experience”.
Dixon pointed out that new chair Andy Roe, a former commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, and chief executive Charlie Pugsley, deputy commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, who were both appointed in June, had established a new ‘innovation unit’ which was now managing 27 new build applications consisting of 6,192 units.
She said that the majority of these applications were currently meeting or exceeding the 12-week service level agreement for processing applications. All told, there were
152 national new build applications being progressed.
She said the BSR expects nearly all new build applications to conclude by December, with the final three closing in January 2026.
“The BSR has also recently announced a new batching process for Category A projects, this consolidates the teams used to review applications into one organisation, significantly reducing delays.”
Lack of coordination
Delays at Gateway 2 had meant that applications were taking over a year in some cases, and there has been widespread criticism of inconsistencies in the way applications had been checked, with a lack of coordination between members of interdisciplinary teams.
“The BSR has been meeting weekly with industry bodies to address gateway challenges, and has increased two-way engagement with applicants,” she said. “We are clear that conversation must deepen.”
The BSR also plans to introduce an account manager model where applications from larger developers will be grouped and assigned a dedicated point of contact to ensure issues are identified at the earliest opportunity.
In addition, Dixon said: “The BSR is actively supporting the Construction Leadership Council to publish a further suite of industry guidance expected around mid-November on the statutory documents accompanying building control approval of applications.” This will sit alongside earlier guidance.
In terms of concerns expressed about delays at Gateway 3, the minister said that, as of early September, the BSR had received 616 Gateway 3 applications for new-build higher-risk buildings.
‘Some applications have moved through quickly’
“Nine have already been approved and issued with completion certificates, while seven remain under review. Some applications have moved through quickly, demonstrating what a well-prepared submission can achieve,” she said. “Others have required additional information before assessment could progress.”
She acknowledged shortages of skilled people in building control and that the BSR’s progress had been constrained by capacity issues, but – in response to Mike Reader, one of the MPs who had organised the debate – ruled out the possibility of offering higher salaries to attract the 100 more people the BSR is looking to recruit.
”As the construction sector and partner regulators rely on the same limited pool, this continues to constrain the BSR’s capacity. While offering higher pay might attract talent, it risks destabilising partner organisations by shifting, not solving the shortage,” she said.
Dixon added that a long-term workforce strategy like that underway in the fire service was needed to build systemwide capacity: “We’re working on it with local authorities, BSR and registered building control approvers to help shape it.”
Single regulator
The minister went on to give more details on the creation of a single regulator for construction. “We intend to legislate when parliamentary time allows, and will publish a prospectus later this year.”
Her remarks were made as Andy Roe gave evidence to the House of Lords industry and regulators committee.
Roe said that professional regulation in the sector should extend beyond the building control profession. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced a requirement for building control inspectors to pass competency assessments and to register with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Roe, who was incident commander during the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, said that construction chief executives would be “the first to admit that the system of subcontracting in this country in the construction industry still holds great danger”.
“I would argue that there’s a real need to regulate not just the building control profession, but the other engineering professions, [and] other critical roles inside construction,” he added.
