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 21-day period between laying and commencement of the Building (Local Authority Charges and Amendments Relating to Charging) England Regulations 2026 on housing delivery.

The 21-day period between laying and commencement of The Building (Local Authority Charges and Amendments Relating to Charging) England Regulations 2026 follows the Parliamentary convention for negative resolution statutory instruments. The Impact Assessment sets out information regarding the wider reforms, but no assessment has been made regarding the impact of that particular period on housing delivery. The Department engaged stakeholders during the consultation on proposals and now that these regulations have been laid through a circular.

The commencement date (6 November 2026) is the earliest that any local authority can make use of the revised regulations for new charges. That authority will have needed to publish online its charging scheme, which outlines the charges, including those for accepting or rejecting documents submitted by Registered Building Control Approvers, not less than seven days before the scheme comes into effect. Until such schemes have been published online at any point, local authorities can only charge using schemes prepared under the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010.