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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of building regulations on the speed of development of new towns.

The Building Regulations 2010 are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They establish minimum legal performance standards for the design and construction of new building work. The government assesses the impact of any proposed changes to building regulations, including the potential impact on development where appropriate and proportionate.

The New Towns Taskforce will submit its final report with detailed recommendations on new towns this summer, including on potential locations. We will start building as quickly as possible, with work beginning in some sites by the end of the Parliament.