Accountability takes shape: What MHCLG’s regulator restructure means for building safety
Iain Hoey
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Why the Building Safety Regulator’s transition to independence marks a new phase in regulatory oversight across England
When the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) formally became a standalone arm’s-length body under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 27 January 2026, the structural change was presented as a step towards greater focus, accountability and delivery.
The transition, announced in a press release and followed by a detailed media briefing on 28 January attended by national and trade press including International Fire and Safety Journal, marks the next phase in post-Grenfell building safety reform.
Originally established within the Health and Safety Executive in 2021, BSR now operates independently, with leadership positioning the move as preparation for the longer-term ambition of a Single Construction Regulator.
A standalone mandate
In the official announcement, Lord Andy Roe, Chair of BSR, described the move as a defining moment in the regulator’s development.
He said: “Today is a decisive and important step in strengthening building safety and a milestone that marks our evolution into a standalone regulator.
“While the creation of BSR in 2021 was a watershed moment, today is about looking forward to a single construction regulator that brings coherence to a once-fragmented system.”
He linked success directly to resident experience, stating: “We will know we are successful when residents acknowledge we have made the built environment safer.”
Roe also emphasised continuity of purpose, saying: “Today is about continuing to support homes being built safely while fulfilling our primary mission: ensuring we are all building better and living safer, together.”
During the 28 January briefing, Roe described how independence strengthens operational clarity.
He said: “Being our own body, our own regulator, gives us that singular focus, that energy and the ability to deliver things proportionately and transparently in an accountable way,” adding: “It’s just much better for us to be in this position as a singular, standalone agency.”
Acting Chief Executive Charlie Pugsley positioned the change as organisationally enabling, saying: “It allows us to continue developing in the way that we want to.”
In the 27 January statement, Pugsley set out the breadth of the regulator’s remit, stating: “Today is a significant new chapter for BSR, with a clear signal that while we must continue to focus on improving our operational delivery for both new build homes and occupied HRBs, our mandate extends far beyond high-rise oversight to a broader responsibility for safety and standards across buildings in England.”
The moral imperative and housing delivery
Throughout the briefing, leadership returned to the experience of the Grenfell Tower fire as the defining influence on the regulator’s purpose.
Said Roe: “What I saw that night was total system failure.
It was everyone, every single institution, private and public, [that] had touched that incident that failed the people who lived in the buildings,” stressing: “That’s the moral imperative [that] underpins this regulator.”
Roe connected this imperative to scrutiny of complex developments, stating: “The moral imperative of bringing greater scrutiny to bear on the design and construction of higher risk, more densely populated, large scale buildings is correct.”
Alongside this, he framed housing delivery as part of the regulator’s duty.
He said: “Getting new homes built has to be part of our duty as a regulator. We have to be enablers.
“Challengers, yes, certainly, but particularly enablers.”
He linked safety outcomes directly to supply, stating: “The safest way you know you’re going to give someone the living environment they deserve is to enable a safe home to be built.”
Roe summarised this position by saying: “This is all driven by the kind of twin desires to make sure people have the houses they need and deserve in this country.”
Gateway reform and operational performance
Gateway 2 performance formed a substantial part of the briefing.
Roe described the position when current leadership assumed responsibility.
He said: “We were up around 144 applications, 33,000 homes, kind of stuck in the pipeline,” stating now : “That’s been completely reversed.”
Providing further detail, Roe said: “We’ve got timescales down from what was a median 48 weeks to get an application approved in London when we started, to now much closer to the 12 or 13 week SLA,” adding: “The backlog problem is dealt with.”
The briefing outlined structural changes including the removal of the previous local NDT model, adoption of a centralised technical approach, faster invalidation of incomplete applications and closer technical engagement between regulator specialists and applicant teams.
Roe reflected on earlier operational weaknesses, stating: “We now have a record of addressing them.”
Now, attention is shifting towards sustaining throughput as volumes increase, while maintaining scrutiny across complex higher-risk schemes.
Gateway 3 preparation is also underway, with inspection planning involving registered building inspectors, fire services, local authorities acting as agents and direct BSR capacity.
Leadership emphasised earlier engagement through account managers to align construction programmes with inspection expectations.
Remediation, enforcement and competence
Remediation was consistently identified during the briefing as the next major operational focus.
Current average decision timelines were noted as around 34 weeks, with approximately 280 live cases in progress.
Roe confirmed that a structured plan is imminent.
He said: “We will make clear public promises, and we will keep them.” He added: “We will set some targets, and we expect to be held to them,” reitering: “There is a real plan.” Pugsley confirmed timing, saying the regulator would be bringing forward a remediation plan “in the next few weeks.”
Roe addressed the continued presence of unsafe buildings directly.
He said: “There’s a lot of dangerous buildings still out there. I don’t say that hypothetically.”
On enforcement, he clarified its place within the wider toolkit.
Roe said: “You will not enforce your way out of this.” He continued: “Enforcement needs to be proportionate, but also needs to be robust.” He added: “You save your enforcement for your absolute criminal actors, your worst actors.”
Pugsley connected enforcement to capability and intelligence, stating: “If you don’t have good intelligence and solid enforcement at the other end, then the bit in the middle actually loses value.”
Professional competence formed another forward priority.
Pugsley asked: “Should those key life critical professions actually all be regulated?” Roe linked standards and accountability to quality outcomes, saying: “Setting a standard and holding people to it drives competency and, actually, quality.”
He also addressed sector-wide skills capacity issue, highlighting the “decades” of under investment in skills: “There’s a shortage [in] every single skill set within the sector.”
Political and industry response
Building Safety Minister Samantha Dixon placed the transition within the government’s reform objectives, tying structural change to long-term housing and safety outcomes.
She said: “Everyone deserves to live in a safe home and we are determined to deliver lasting change to make this a reality.” She added: “The Building Safety Regulator sits at the heart of this mission, and today launching a new body is an important step in realising sector wide reform.” Dixon concluded: “I look forward to working with the new leadership team on our journey towards the Single Construction Regulator.”
Mark Reynolds, Executive Chair of Mace Group and Chair of the Construction Leadership Council, described recent engagement with the regulator in operational terms, linking structural reform to day-to-day process.
He said: “Over the last twelve months we’ve seen a very tangible shift in how BSR has worked with the Construction Leadership Council and developers across the country, and the result has been a more effective process, enabling safer buildings to be commissioned and delivered faster.”
He added: “The UK needs confidence that the construction industry, the regulator and government are all working together to deliver new and safe housing at scale – and I believe this moment marks a major step forward on that journey.”
There is a particular kind of scrutiny that comes with becoming standalone.
Performance data, published more clearly, tends to attract attention from those waiting on decisions, those living with risk, and those expected to fund remediation.
It also creates a sharper public record of what the regulator says it will do next, including the targets Roe said BSR expects to be held to.
In that sense, independence raises expectations as much as it clarifies structure.
Roe’s own framing has consistently returned to accountability and prevention as the standard against which that performance will be judged.
He said: “We will know we are successful when residents acknowledge we have made the built environment safer,” concluding: “We want to prevent future Grenfells.”