Mobile UK, the voice of the UK’s mobile network operators, welcomes the publication of the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee’s report, The Building Safety Regulator: Building a better regulator. The report’s findings serve as a crucial validation of the concerns our sector has raised regarding the unintended consequences of the new regulatory regime on critical national infrastructure.

We welcome the Lords Committee’s recognition that subjecting minor works to full BSR scrutiny is causing unacceptable delays that serve neither safety nor progress. Mobile UK is particularly encouraged by the Committee’s recommendation for the Government to “remove smaller works from the BSR's building control approval processes or introduce a streamlined approval process for them”. Implementing this recommendation is essential not only to unblock the BSR’s backlog but to ensure that the deployment of digital infrastructure is not unnecessarily stalled by red tape designed for high-risk structural remediation.

Hamish MacLeod, Chief Executive of Mobile UK, said:

"We fully support the Committee’s finding that the current delays are unacceptable and that the BSR’s lack of clear guidance has left applicants unable to efficiently evidence safety compliance. We urge the Government to act immediately on the report’s call for a streamlined process for smaller works. This pragmatism is vital to ensure that safety remains paramount without sacrificing the UK’s digital ambitions or the speed of network deployment."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• Mobile UK acts as the voice of the UK’s mobile network operators: EE, O2, and VodafoneThree.

• The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee report, The Building Safety Regulator: Building a better regulator, was published on 11 December 2025.

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