Establish single construction industry regulator
Grenfell Tower Inquiry · Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report · Issued 4 September 2024 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
That the government draw together under a single regulator all the functions relating to the construction industry to which we have referred. (113.6)
Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report · 4 Sep 2024 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- Building safety functions were transferred from HSE to a newly created arm's-length body via a November 2025 Statutory Instrument (Annual Report on Progress, MHCLG, February 2026).
- The Building Safety Regulator continues to operate within HSE pending full organisational transition (Annual Report on Progress, MHCLG, February 2026).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
The government accepts this recommendation in principle. The single regulator will deliver the functions specified in the report with two exceptions. We do not believe it is appropriate for the single regulator to undertake testing and certification of construction products, or issue certificates of compliance, as this would create a new conflict of interest within the regulator. Instead, we will strengthen oversight of Conformity Assessment Bodies through reforms to the construction products regime. Implementation will start immediately, beginning with work to support the existing regulatory regime as the foundation to moving towards greater consolidation. We are also publishing a construction products green paper alongside this response which sets out our proposals for reform of the construction products regulatory regime and will inform the implementation of this recommendation. We will publish a Regulatory Reform Prospectus and consultation on the design of the single regulator later this year before bringing forward the necessary legislation to establish it later in the Parliament. We will go further than the Inquiry's recommendation by consulting on strengthening the investigation of serious building safety incidents.
UK Government · 16 Jan 2025 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
The government accepts this recommendation in principle. The single regulator will deliver the functions specified in the report with two exceptions. We do not believe it is appropriate for the single regulator to undertake testing and certification of construction products, or issue certificates of compliance, as this would create a new conflict of interest within the regulator. Instead, we will strengthen oversight of Conformity Assessment Bodies through reforms to the construction products regime. Implementation will start immediately, beginning with work to support the existing regulatory regime as the foundation to moving towards greater consolidation. We are also publishing a construction products green paper alongside this response which sets out our proposals for reform of the construction products regulatory regime and will inform the implementation of this recommendation. We will publish a Regulatory Reform Prospectus and consultation on the design of the single regulator later this year before bringing forward the necessary legislation to establish it later in the Parliament. We will go further than the Inquiry's recommendation by consulting on strengthening the investigation of serious building safety incidents.
UK Government · 26 Feb 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Feb 2026 Building safety functions transferred from HSE to newly created arms-length body via November Statutory Instrument. Building Safety Regulator operating under interim leadership making operational changes to expedite building control approval decisions, including Innovation Unit introduction. Single Construction Regulator Prospectus published 17 December 2025 confirming commitment and outlining delivery approach with ambitions extending beyond original recommendation. Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.