Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that accessible and adaptable homes are available for older and disabled people.

Planning rules already mean that councils must consider the needs of older and disabled people when planning new homes. The National Model Design Code provides tools and guidance to local councils for producing design codes; it details how the ten characteristics in the National Design Guide can be translated into design standards in local design codes. My Hon Friend will want to know that the Government has set out its intention to mandate higher accessibility standards for all new homes by raising the minimum standard in Building Regulations in England in due course.