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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that new homes promote positive health outcomes for residents.

This Government is committed to delivering 1.5 million quality homes over this Parliament, to ensure people have access to the high-quality housing they need.

The Building Regulations are intended to protect people’s safety, health, and welfare. Building Regulations set minimum performance standards for new building work, including when a building is being designed, constructed, or subject to major re-design. The Building Safety Act 2022 also requires the Building Safety Regulator to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review, which includes advising government on updates on Approved Documents.

In December 2021, the previous government introduced an uplift in energy efficiency and ventilation standards for new homes and buildings, which came into force in June 2022. These changes will help to ensure that new homes and buildings are warm and comfortable, with high indoor air quality. As part of the 2021 uplift, the previous government also introduced a new overheating requirement to reduce the risk of overheating in new residential buildings.

The Government plans to publish the Future Homes Standard in autumn this year. Homes built to the Future Homes Standard will be future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. This will contribute to ensuring that new homes are both warm and comfortable.

To further reinforce standards, we remain committed to introducing a statutory New Homes Ombudsman scheme that developers will have to join, with an accompanying Code of Practice about the standards of conduct and standards of quality of work expected of members.