Building Safety Regulator
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of low-complexity work in higher-risk buildings having to be submitted to the Building Safety Regulator for approval on the levels of application processing backlog.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
We recognise there have been significant challenges faced by applicants in getting Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approval for low-complexity and lower-risk work. Category B work, generally including less-complex and lower-risk projects, carries fewer procedural requirements in an application to the BSR.
The intention was that these category B applications should be simpler for the applicant to prepare and quicker for the BSR to assess. The department and BSR has been working at pace to address these challenges, and to ensure the new regime is fit for purpose and proportionate for all type of work. We will continue to engage with industry while policy review and development is under way.
On average Category B applications have taken 11.5 hours to make a decision per application. In comparison, Category A applications have taken an average of 20 hours per application, and New HRB’s have taken an average of 88.2 hours per application.
As of 14 November 2025, there are 12 Category B applications currently progressing through Gateway 2 Assessment. When measured against the total volume of Category B assessments received during this financial year, the average time allocated represents approximately 3.6% of overall working hours.
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