Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she had made of the potential merits of introducing (a) additional technical guidance and (b) a formal advisory service to assist dutyholders in preparing Gateway Two applications for higher-risk buildings in compliance with the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise that there are delays to the Gateways process and that processing times need to improve. Delays have the potential to slow the delivery of new homes and may impact on investment decisions in high-rise projects. MHCLG are working urgently with the BSR to address the current challenges. This includes direct ministerial-level involvement to accelerate progress.
We continue to work closely with the BSR to understand their resource requirements, technical capacity and how processes can be improved. We have provided funding to the BSR to recruit an extra 30 frontline staff to bolster its capacity. On 14 May, BSR also launched a campaign to directly recruit Registered Building Inspectors (RBIs), with further recruitment planned in June 2025. We expect the impact of these new recruits on processing times to scale up in the coming months.
Whilst BSR and MHCLG are exploring all possible opportunities to strengthen the new Gateway process and guidance to industry, it is important to recognise that a significant volume of applications continue to be invalidated or rejected for not meeting the legislative requirements. These are buildings that, had they been constructed, might have placed residents at risk and/or living in housing that did not meet long-standing requirements. It is also important to note that additional information requests for missing details in applications can add between at least 4-6 weeks onto the process.
BSR continues to carry out extensive stakeholder engagement to support applicants to better understand and meet the new requirements. Since July 2024, BSR has held weekly meetings with the Construction Leadership Council and other industry bodies including the Home Builders Federation to address knowledge gaps and share lessons learned. BSR also issued new guidance in collaboration with the sector in March 2025 based on the findings of research with organisations submitting building control applications. BSR continues work to improve the way it interacts with applicants before and during the process.
BSR officials have provided Gateway 2 application data from October 2023 to date:
2,240 applications received to date | 899 live applications |
32% (430) - Approved | 41% (552) - Invalidated at the initial stage as they did not contain the right information under Schedule 1. |
11% (140) - Withdrawn | 16% (219) - Rejected. |
Many of the applications that remain undetermined have proved to be of poor quality and the BSR continues to work with applicants to ensure that applications properly demonstrate compliance with the minimum safety standards set out in the Building Regulations.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken for approvals to be made under the Building Safety Regulator’s Gateways process on (a) the delivery of new homes, (b) the viability of new developments, (c) the timeliness of housing completions and (d) investment decisions in the high-rise residential sector.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise that there are delays to the Gateways process and that processing times need to improve. Delays have the potential to slow the delivery of new homes and may impact on investment decisions in high-rise projects. MHCLG are working urgently with the BSR to address the current challenges. This includes direct ministerial-level involvement to accelerate progress.
We continue to work closely with the BSR to understand their resource requirements, technical capacity and how processes can be improved. We have provided funding to the BSR to recruit an extra 30 frontline staff to bolster its capacity. On 14 May, BSR also launched a campaign to directly recruit Registered Building Inspectors (RBIs), with further recruitment planned in June 2025. We expect the impact of these new recruits on processing times to scale up in the coming months.
Whilst BSR and MHCLG are exploring all possible opportunities to strengthen the new Gateway process and guidance to industry, it is important to recognise that a significant volume of applications continue to be invalidated or rejected for not meeting the legislative requirements. These are buildings that, had they been constructed, might have placed residents at risk and/or living in housing that did not meet long-standing requirements. It is also important to note that additional information requests for missing details in applications can add between at least 4-6 weeks onto the process.
BSR continues to carry out extensive stakeholder engagement to support applicants to better understand and meet the new requirements. Since July 2024, BSR has held weekly meetings with the Construction Leadership Council and other industry bodies including the Home Builders Federation to address knowledge gaps and share lessons learned. BSR also issued new guidance in collaboration with the sector in March 2025 based on the findings of research with organisations submitting building control applications. BSR continues work to improve the way it interacts with applicants before and during the process.
BSR officials have provided Gateway 2 application data from October 2023 to date:
2,240 applications received to date | 899 live applications |
32% (430) - Approved | 41% (552) - Invalidated at the initial stage as they did not contain the right information under Schedule 1. |
11% (140) - Withdrawn | 16% (219) - Rejected. |
Many of the applications that remain undetermined have proved to be of poor quality and the BSR continues to work with applicants to ensure that applications properly demonstrate compliance with the minimum safety standards set out in the Building Regulations.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Building Safety Regulator on (a) the adequacy of the (i) resources and (ii) technical capacity available to enable it to make timely determinations of Gateway applications and (b) its operational efficiency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise that there are delays to the Gateways process and that processing times need to improve. Delays have the potential to slow the delivery of new homes and may impact on investment decisions in high-rise projects. MHCLG are working urgently with the BSR to address the current challenges. This includes direct ministerial-level involvement to accelerate progress.
We continue to work closely with the BSR to understand their resource requirements, technical capacity and how processes can be improved. We have provided funding to the BSR to recruit an extra 30 frontline staff to bolster its capacity. On 14 May, BSR also launched a campaign to directly recruit Registered Building Inspectors (RBIs), with further recruitment planned in June 2025. We expect the impact of these new recruits on processing times to scale up in the coming months.
Whilst BSR and MHCLG are exploring all possible opportunities to strengthen the new Gateway process and guidance to industry, it is important to recognise that a significant volume of applications continue to be invalidated or rejected for not meeting the legislative requirements. These are buildings that, had they been constructed, might have placed residents at risk and/or living in housing that did not meet long-standing requirements. It is also important to note that additional information requests for missing details in applications can add between at least 4-6 weeks onto the process.
BSR continues to carry out extensive stakeholder engagement to support applicants to better understand and meet the new requirements. Since July 2024, BSR has held weekly meetings with the Construction Leadership Council and other industry bodies including the Home Builders Federation to address knowledge gaps and share lessons learned. BSR also issued new guidance in collaboration with the sector in March 2025 based on the findings of research with organisations submitting building control applications. BSR continues work to improve the way it interacts with applicants before and during the process.
BSR officials have provided Gateway 2 application data from October 2023 to date:
2,240 applications received to date | 899 live applications |
32% (430) - Approved | 41% (552) - Invalidated at the initial stage as they did not contain the right information under Schedule 1. |
11% (140) - Withdrawn | 16% (219) - Rejected. |
Many of the applications that remain undetermined have proved to be of poor quality and the BSR continues to work with applicants to ensure that applications properly demonstrate compliance with the minimum safety standards set out in the Building Regulations.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether mobile network operators were consulted on the deployment of communications infrastructure in areas of planned housing growth as part of the process to inform the December 2024 revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29727 on 18 February 2025.
In addition to national planning policy and guidance, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published February 2022, sets out the roles and responsibilities for all relevant stakeholders, including applicants and local authorities, when planning for, consulting on and installing telecommunications infrastructure.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating the NPPF to include guidance on the integration of passive telecommunications infrastructure at the masterplanning stage of new residential developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29727 on 18 February 2025.
In addition to national planning policy and guidance, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published February 2022, sets out the roles and responsibilities for all relevant stakeholders, including applicants and local authorities, when planning for, consulting on and installing telecommunications infrastructure.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department assesses the impact of new housing on the mobile telecommunication networks at any stage post-approval.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29727 on 18 February 2025.
In addition to national planning policy and guidance, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published February 2022, sets out the roles and responsibilities for all relevant stakeholders, including applicants and local authorities, when planning for, consulting on and installing telecommunications infrastructure.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring housing developers share (a) occupancy projections, (b) site layout data and (c) construction timelines with mobile network operators to allow for forward planning of network capacity.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29727 on 18 February 2025.
In addition to national planning policy and guidance, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published February 2022, sets out the roles and responsibilities for all relevant stakeholders, including applicants and local authorities, when planning for, consulting on and installing telecommunications infrastructure.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a formal requirement for local planning authorities to notify mobile network operators when a housing development likely to increase network demand is granted approval.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29727 on 18 February 2025.
In addition to national planning policy and guidance, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published February 2022, sets out the roles and responsibilities for all relevant stakeholders, including applicants and local authorities, when planning for, consulting on and installing telecommunications infrastructure.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will consider issuing guidance to local authorities to treat mobile network operators as statutory consultees for large-scale residential developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29727 on 18 February 2025.
In addition to national planning policy and guidance, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published February 2022, sets out the roles and responsibilities for all relevant stakeholders, including applicants and local authorities, when planning for, consulting on and installing telecommunications infrastructure.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment made of the potential impact of the Renters’ Rights Bills on employment levels in the estate agency sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department published the Renters’ Rights Bill Impact Assessment (IA) on 22 November 2024. It received a ‘Green’ rating from the Regulatory Policy Committee, indicating that it is ‘fit for purpose’.
In the IA, the government estimates there are 22,900 letting agents in England in 2023 and 64% of landlords use their services (sources: ONS and English Private Landlord Survey).
The IA does not assess employment levels in the sector but does monetise the familiarisation costs of understanding and adjusting to new regulations for lettings agents. The IA also monetises the commensurate loss of income for lettings agents and other related business of reduced churn in the private rented sector as a result of more stable tenancies. Landlords will benefit from the equivalent saving in letting agent fees.
There are also benefits that the Department has not been able to monetise, for example letting agents are expected to benefit from the Private Rented Sector Database because they will be able to register on behalf of landlords – generating income from this new service.