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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that local authorities monitor the number of new build homes that comply with optional accessibility standards set out in building regulations.

We have strengthened the policy for securing accessible housing, by expecting local planning authorities to use the Government’s optional technical standards for accessible and adaptable housing when preparing their plans, where this would address an identified need for such properties. Our planning guidance sets out the role of local planning authorities in monitoring the implementation of plans. Authorities can include the provision of accessible housing when preparing their Authority Monitoring Reports, but this is not mandatory.