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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to ensure that new developments in rural areas are (a) sustainable and (b) environmentally friendly.

We fully support the need for all new homes to be well designed, sustainable and environmentally friendly, including those in rural areas.

Future standards next year will set our new homes on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and ensures they are fit for a net zero future. These homes will be future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. No further energy efficiency retrofit work will be necessary to enable them to become zero-carbon over time as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise.

Of course, the construction of new homes also results in the release of embodied carbon emissions, which come from producing, transporting, and using building materials. My department is considering the best approach to measuring and reducing these emissions.