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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Part O of Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations on her plans to develop beautiful communities.

The intention of Part O is to reduce the risk of overheating in new residential buildings. Overheating in buildings has been highlighted as a key risk for the health and productivity of people and businesses in the UK, and we must ensure that new homes do not increase that risk.

The Building Regulations are outcome based and not prescriptive, and two different Part O compliance routes have been put in place to enable design flexibility and allow for innovative, beautiful and compliant designs.

As part of the Future Homes and Buildings Standard consultation, which closed in March 2024, we sought evidence on whether current overheating standards are appropriate or require amendment. The Government will set out the evidence it received on Part O during this consultation and its response to this in Autumn 2025, when the Future Homes and Buildings Standard consultation response will be published.