Responsibility for the regulator is being stripped from the Health and Safety Executive and handed to a new arm’s length agency under the housing ministry.

Former commissioner and deputy commissioner of London Fire Brigade Andy Roe and Charlie Pugsley called up to sort out regulatory logjam

A shadow board has been set up ahead of the handover, with former London Fire Brigade Commissioner Andy Roe named as chair and fire enforcement specialist Charlie Pugsley appointed as chief executive.

The changes are part of a wider drive to cut through red tape and deliver 1.5 million safe, high-quality homes.

A new Fast Track Process is being introduced to speed up decisions on new build schemes and remediation jobs.

More than 100 new staff will be recruited to bolster the regulator’s capacity, with in-house engineers and building inspectors helping to clear the backlog of stalled applications.

The changes follow mounting criticism over slow decision-making and are seen as the first step toward a new single construction regulator – one of the core recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Building safety minister Alex Norris said: “We’re enhancing operations, reducing delays, and unlocking the homes this country desperately needs – while keeping safety front and centre.”

The HSE, which has overseen the BSR since its creation in 2022, confirmed it is working with ministers to ensure a smooth transition.

Roe, non-exec Chair of the BSR, said:  “The creation of the new Building Safety Regulator was a watershed moment for housing and construction in this country.

“However, it is also clear that the BSR processes’ need to continue to evolve and improve, to ensure that it plays its part in enabling the homes this country desperately needs to be built.

“I look forward to working with colleagues both in industry and the BSR to tackle the current issues and delays head on and help get those homes built safely.”

HSE Chair, Sarah Newton said: “Setting up an entirely new regulator has been complex and huge progress has been made in a short space of time.

“It was always an option that once the new regulator was established that it would move out of HSE to enable the Government to implement the Grenfell Public Inquiry recommendations and we will work hard to enable the smooth transition to the next stage.”