The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released what may be the last Building Safety Regulator (BSR) update before its removal from the Executive
Gateway 2 decisions have continued to rise, as the HSE reports 347 decisions made across all types in the 12 weeks to 22 December.
Furthermore, since 29 September 2025, a record 727 determinations were made, the highest number since the BSR began operations in the last quarter of 2025.
The number of live applications has been reduced from 1,219 to 1,158
This has all made for a net shift of 61 fewer live applications as of 22 December, a positive movement.
69% of all decisions in all Gateway 2 categories were related to London cases, with 503 being made in relation to London in the last 12 weeks alone, marking a net shift of live cases from 791 to 740.
Since 29 September, 54 complex historic applications have been closed, 30 of which were recent decisions related to London.
Charlie Pugsley, BSR chief executive officer, said: “Across BSR, and we believe within industry too, there is a confidence we can continue to make more decisions at an increasing pace through our new processes and by engaging appropriately with applicants.”
The BSR committed to clearing legacy Gateway 2 applications by the new year
As of October 2025, there were 91 legacy Gateway 2 applications, of which the regulator committed to clearing all but three by January 2026.
These applications cover 21,745 units put forward while the regulator was still under the old regime. The 91 applications were a part of a wider 152 applications, or a total of 33,670 units.
253 applications were also concerned with remediating existing buildings, or 22,304 units at the Gateway 2 stage. As of the latest update, 82 decisions have been made, while 83 new cases have been received, putting the total of live cases at 280.
At the time, the BSR update said: “This projection is based on experience to date, dependent on continued progress and, in many cases, relevant and timely information being provided by applicants.”
“The total number of identified ‘blockers’ is greater than the number of applications, as many cases face multiple impediments [such as] staff availability, complex decisions, information needs from applicant or BSR.”
Regarding criticisms of the Regulator taking too long to make decisions, an update said: “We acknowledge there are delays in processing applications and we continue to introduce improvements.
“Recent recruitment activity is having a positive impact on productivity with the number of decisions doubling (month on month) overall since March.
“Significantly, the number of decisions made are now exceeding new applications received.
“Dedicated teams are now in place to process new-build and remediation applications, and we are introducing a new Innovation Unit which will focus on fast-tracking new-build applications through the system.”
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