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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of new homes built to high standards of environmental resilience; and what proportion of housebuilding projects are meeting those standards.

Building sustainable homes for the future is a key goal of this Government. Future standards next year will set our new homes and buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and ensures they are fit for a net zero future.

The Future Homes Standard consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024, and a government response has not yet been issued. We fully support the need for low carbon homes, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes Standard consultation and will publish the Government response in due course.

In addition, in 2021, Part O of the Building Regulations was introduced to mitigate the risk of overheating in new homes. All new homes must now be designed to minimise the amount of unwanted heat.