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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new housing and major development schemes contribute to meeting net zero targets, including through energy efficiency, sustainable construction methods, low-carbon infrastructure and integrated transport planning.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has responsibility for the Building Regulations, construction product reform, and planning.

The Government published an update to the energy efficiency standards in the Building Regulations, the Future Homes Standard (FHS), on 24 March 2026. New homes built to these new standards will be zero carbon ready, meaning they will become zero carbon once the national grid is fully decarbonised and will require no further retrofitting to meet net zero.

The Government has also committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy and making significant reductions in carbon emissions. For construction products, this includes increasing reuse and recycling of products, choosing more sustainable products, and improving information about environmental performance.

We recently consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework, including proposals relating to renewable and low carbon energy. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in the summer.