Buildings: Safety
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish details of the new batching model being trialled by the Building Safety Regulator to reduce the length of time taken to assess building control applications, including the number of applications being considered.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) publishes monthly data on Building Control Approval applications, including progress on the batching pilot launched in September 2025. Latest data, published in February 2026, showed average approval times for new cases of 18 weeks, representing an almost threefold improvement in processing times when compared to May-July 2025. More complex cases managed through Account Managers are taking around 25 weeks on average for approval.
The BSR has also addressed the backlog of legacy Gateway 2 applications through a substantial expansion of operational capacity and the integration of specialist expertise. These measures have strengthened decision-making, sped up the processing of both new‑build and remediation cases, and supported more efficient partnership working with industry.
In parallel, enhanced guidance, developed jointly with the Construction Leadership Council, is supporting applicants to submit clearer, higher‑quality applications that demonstrate compliance, helping to further reduce determination times.
There are currently four live Gateway 2 applications within the Stockport constituency (SK1–SK5): two remediation cases and two Category A applications.
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