Building Safety Regulator: Lords Industry and Regulators Committee report

In December 2025, the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee published its report ‘The Building Safety Regulator: Building a better regulator’. The committee found that delays caused by the regulator’s approval processes had delayed or disincentivised refurbishments, safety upgrades and the remediation of dangerous cladding in high-rise buildings. It made recommendations aimed at these addressing the issues. The government accepted the intent of the recommendations and set out information on how it would take them forward.

Building Safety Regulator: Lords Industry and Regulators Committee report

New towns programme in England: Lords Built Environment Committee reports

The government argues that a next generation of new towns is necessary in England to drive economic growth and tackle housing shortages. The House of Lords Built Environment Committee has published two reports on the government’s new towns programme, calling for strong leadership and dedicated resources to ensure the programme can deliver on its ambitious targets.

New towns programme in England: Lords Built Environment Committee reports

  • In Focus

    Impact of government policies on biodiversity and the countryside

    The UK has been described as “one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth”. Legally binding biodiversity targets apply under the Environment Act 2021. Work is underway to gather data to measure progress towards them. Government policies to improve biodiversity include local nature recovery strategies, environmental land management schemes, biodiversity net gain and introducing a nature restoration levy through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. However, nature groups have argued the levy may work to reduce environmental protection.

  • In Focus

    Creating a national accident prevention strategy

    Highlighting the human and economic costs of accidents, and rising rates of accidental deaths in the UK, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has called for the government to create a national accident prevention strategy. RoSPA argues that currently, responsibility for accident prevention is too fragmented. The government has not yet commented on this proposal.

  • Research Briefing

    Planning and Infrastructure Bill: HL Bill 110 of 2024–25

    The Planning and Infrastructure Bill would make changes to the system for approving major infrastructure projects, planning committees and nature recovery. It would also make changes to electricity and transport infrastructure processes, development corporations, spatial development strategies, and compulsory purchase. The government intends the bill to help grow the economy by enabling important infrastructure and homes to be built more quickly. Some parts of the bill, particularly those related to nature recovery, have attracted criticism from opposition parties and external bodies.

  • Research Briefing

    Renters’ Rights Bill: HL Bill 60 of 2024–25

    The Renters' Rights Bill would enact significant reform of the private rental sector (PRS). The bill’s provisions are centred on the PRS in England, though some measures would apply to Scotland and Wales. Many of the provisions in the bill are similar to the Renters (Reform) Bill 2023–24 introduced by the then Conservative government, but with several key differences including ending rental bidding and curtailing rent payments in advance of a tenancy.

  • In Focus

    Vagrancy Act 1824: Will it be repealed?

    Two hundred years ago the Vagrancy Act 1824 criminalised begging and rough sleeping. These provisions are still in force today, despite long-standing calls for their repeal and government commitments to replace them. This briefing looks at the original purpose of the act and at efforts to remove it from the statute books.

  • In Focus

    Housing: Supply, quality and community impact

    The government has made several proposals to increase housing supply and improve the quality of homes. This includes prioritising building housing on brownfield sites and reforming the national planning policy framework. However, there are concerns that the development of such homes can impact surrounding communities, affecting factors such as green spaces, local infrastructure and public services.

  • In Focus

    Homelessness and the supply of affordable housing

    Homelessness and housing sector commentators argue that there is an undersupply of affordable housing, which they suggest is a key driver of homelessness. Successive governments have sought to address the issue of homelessness in part by increasing the supply of affordable homes and improving the quality of existing accommodation. The current government’s new taskforce on homelessness says it will seek to increase the supply and security of housing.

  • In Focus

    Grenfell Tower Inquiry: House of Lords debate

    The Grenfell Tower Inquiry published its final report in September 2024. It found the fire was the “culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry”. It also concluded there had been “systematic dishonesty” from the manufacturers of certain cladding panels and insulation about their products. This briefing covers the inquiry’s recommendations and responses from different stakeholders ahead of a debate in the House of Lords.

Total results (page 1 of 9)