Govt must address Building Safety Regulator delays – HCLG Committee

The government must review how best to support the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to reduce delays to building safety approvals, according to the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee.

In a letter to Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, and Alex Norris, building safety minister, the cross-party committee urged ministers to improve the “day-to-day operations” of the BSR. It recommended the regulator be allowed to undertake its work on an “organisation-by-organisation” basis rather than working building-by-building.

The committee referenced Philip White, the BSR’s director of building safety, who, it said, had commented that approaching building safety by employer would address any underlying problems unique to each company. This was preferable to “targeting specific organisations who own multiple properties”, the committee said.

In its letter, the committee wrote that delays to the approval of high rise residential buildings “must be addressed as a priority”, with improvements needed to the BSR’s “operating efficacy”.

The committee’s call for an improved BSR is one of its key recommendations following a short inquiry on the government’s response to the Grenfell inquiry.

The letter to the MPs also details the other recommendations, covering areas including the Building Safety Levy, fire …