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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to what energy standards homes under the Affordable Homes Programme will be built.

The government will publish the Future Homes Standard (FHS) this autumn to ensure new homes are zero carbon ready, meaning they will require no future retrofit work as the electricity grid fully decarbonises.

The FHS will apply to all new homes and will ensure they have low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. We will set out appropriate transitional arrangements for the FHS in due course to ensure a smooth adoption of the new standards.

Prior to the implementation of the FHS, we expect new homes to be built to the current 2021 standards. The current standards are set at a high level, ensuring new homes are warm, comfortable and that their energy bills are minimised.