Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to set up an independent structural research organisation, in the model of the Building Research Establishment.

The Government considers that public sector testing and research capacity is an essential part of an effective building safety regime. In December 2025, the Government confirmed that it would take forward work to establish new public sector testing capacity to enable both enforcement testing and research testing to be performed. This will provide regulators and the Government with increased capacity and an authoritative voice on building safety.

The Government sought views on models for delivering this new capacity in the Construction Products Reform White Paper, published in February 2026.

We intend to publish the Government response to the White Paper consultation later this year.