Buildings: Safety
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 67391 on Building: Safety, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential regulatory cost of London having different building safety standards to the rest of England.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
The Department has not made a specific estimate of the potential regulatory cost of London having different building safety standards to the rest of England.
Building regulations are set nationally under the Building Act 1984 and apply uniformly across England. Local authorities, including those in London, may apply additional planning or enforcement measures.
Where regulatory changes are proposed, the Department undertakes an Impact Assessment in accordance with HM Treasury’s Green Book guidance. These assessments consider the costs and benefits of regulatory proposals, including regional impacts where relevant, for example recognising the higher prevalence of high-rise buildings in London. To date, no Impact Assessment has been undertaken specifically to quantify the cost implications of London diverging from national building safety standards.
The Department continues to work closely with the Greater London Authority and other stakeholders to ensure building safety reforms are implemented consistently and proportionately across all regions. We keep regional impacts under review as part of our ongoing engagement with the Building Safety Regulator and future updates to guidance.
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