ACQP responds to Government’s announcement on Building Safety Regulator

However, the ACQP is “deeply concerned” by the Government’s decision to keep the Building Safety Regulator under departmental control rather than establishing it as an independent and standalone regulator.

The announcement from Parliament confirms that the Building Safety Regulator will now move from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to reside within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). This move represents a “missed opportunity to demonstrate real change and progress in building safety reform”, suggests the ACQP.

The organisation has commented: “Rather than creating a regulator with the operational independence and authority that such a role demands, the Government has simply transferred the oversight from the HSE to another Government department.”

Half-measured approach

The ACQP has consistently called for the creation of a “truly independent” Building Safety Regulator, separate from both the HSE and MHCLG. “Only an independent regulator can provide the impartiality, transparency and public confidence needed in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed 72 lives and exposed the fundamental weaknesses present in the UK’s building safety framework.”

Commenting on the Government’s decision, Gerry Sharpe (CEO at the ACQP) said: “This is not the bold reform we need. It’s a reshuffle. Grenfell demanded a complete rethink of how building safety is governed. Instead, we see a continuation of fragmented leadership under departments that have already been linked to regulatory failure. This approach doesn’t honour the victims of Grenfell, nor does it deliver the robust safety oversight that the public rightly expects and deserves.”

Urgent reform

The ACQP is urging the Government to:

*establish the Building Safety Regulator as a fully independent statutory body

*remove all direct departmental oversight and political influence

*ensure the regulator is fully resourced and empowered to drive cultural and regulatory change across the built environment

In conclusion, the ACQP observed: “Without true independence, the Building Safety Regulator risks becoming yet another bureaucratic entity constrained by political cycles rather than being driven by safety, competence and accountability.”