Here are the climate-related sections of speeches by MPs during the Commons debate Future Homes and Buildings Standards.
Samantha Dixon (Labour)
Improving the energy efficiency of our buildings and reducing carbon emissions is challenging but essential. The 2021 amendments to the Building Regulations 2010, which increased the standards in parts L and F and introduced part O, were a good first step. But the future homes and buildings standards, which we are confirming today and laying the statutory instrument to implement, will ensure new homes and buildings in England will have good quality building fabric and, crucially, be fitted with low-carbon heating such as heat pumps. They will be “zero carbon ready” meaning they will naturally become zero carbon over time, as the electricity grid fully decarbonises, without the need for any retrofitting. This policy will help the UK avoid the more volatile price increases of fossil fuels, drive down energy bills for households, and support our goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The consultation response also includes the response to the call for evidence on part O of the Building Regulations, which came into force in June 2022. Part O requires new residential buildings to be designed and built to mitigate the risk of overheating, helping our country adapt to climate change and protecting people in their homes. The call for evidence collected input from house builders with first-hand experience of applying these requirements. Based on this feedback, the Government have decided to proceed with a comprehensive technical review of approved document O to consider how it could best be improved. The review will consider stakeholder concerns, including reviewing the adoption of the updated CIBSE TM59 for the dynamic method, exploring improvements to the simplified method and reviewing the noise and security guidance in approved document O. The review will also consider issues relating to overlaps with other parts of the Building Regulations and the use of weather files.
Implementing these standards marks a pivotal step for the sector in our pursuit of net zero. It sets out a clear route towards delivering homes and buildings that are prepared for the future in their enhanced energy efficiency, low-carbon heating, and improved protection against overheating. This approach supports the transition to a cleaner, greener built environment, ensuring new homes are zero carbon ready and resilient to the impacts of climate change.
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