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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 29 June (HL5657), whether the Future Homes Standard consultation meets the requirements of section J of the Cabinet Office's Consultation Principles, as updated on 19 March 2018.

The Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises the important contribution that the energy efficiency of buildings has to make in meeting it. In October 2019, we launched the first stage of a two-part consultation on Part L and Part F of the Building Regulations. We proposed an ambitious uplift in the energy efficiency of new homes through the introduction of a Future Homes Standard from 2025. We expect that homes built to the Future Homes Standard will have carbon dioxide emissions 75-80 per cent lower than those built to current Building Regulations standards, which means they will be fit for the future, with low carbon heating and very high fabric standards.

The Government's Consultation Principles, promoted by Cabinet Office, provide departments with guidance on conducting consultations. Section J of that guidance states that an explanation should be provided where it is not possible to publish a response within 12 weeks of the consultation.

The Future Homes Standard consultation closed on 7 February and received over 3300 responses from organisations and individuals, many of which were detailed or provided supporting evidence that requires further consideration. This level of response exceeded expectations and is over ten times the amount of responses that were received for our previous 2012 consultation about changes to the building regulations that relate to the energy efficiency of buildings (part L).

Since the Future Homes Standard consultation closed, the department has been faced with the biggest public health emergency in living memory: a pandemic which has forced action across all of Government, resulting in unprecedented response, from shielding the most vulnerable, to keeping business running, preventing the loss of jobs, and supporting our public services. Every part of this Department has been rapidly mobilised to support those in need, from saving lives, protecting the vulnerable to supporting our NHS.

Our analysis of the Future Homes Standard consultation is ongoing and the Government remains committed to publishing a response in as timely a manner as possible, in line with principle J of the Cabinet Office principles.