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 implications for her policies of AXA’s report entitled Extreme weather risks: An analysis of England’s vulnerability to flooding and heat.

Under the Third National Adaptation Plan, MHCLG has shared responsibility with Defra and DESNZ for addressing risks to buildings from extreme heat and flooding.

On overheating, MHCLG introduced Part O of the Building Regulations in 2021, which requires that new buildings are built to mitigate the risk of overheating. Part O came into force in June 2022.

On flooding, statutory guidance to the Building Regulations in Approved Document C, already promotes the use of flood resilient and resistant construction in flood prone areas.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 also sets out that the planning system should take full account of all climate impacts, including overheating, storm and flood risk. Planning should help to ensure that development minimises vulnerability and improves resilience to the effects of climate change.