Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Future Homes Standard

Monday 5 October 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The future homes standard reforms aim to reduce emissions from new homes by at least 75% compared to current standards.
  • The Government has introduced measures such as the green homes grant to support energy efficiency improvements.
  • The UK Government was the first to legislate for net zero carbon emissions.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sarah Olney Lib Dem Richmond Park
Climate Energy
Context

The Liberal Democrats are pushing for stricter standards on new home construction to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Question

For what reasons he plans to introduce the future homes standard in 2025. The questioner seeks clarity on the Government's intentions behind setting this deadline and its impact on reducing carbon emissions from new builds.

Answer from Christopher Pincher

Our future homes standard reforms propose an ambitious uplift in the energy efficiency of new homes. The homes will have at least 75% lower emissions than current standards. That is real action toward a cleaner and greener built environment. Furthermore, ahead of 2025, we have consulted on a meaningful interim increase in the requirements of part L of the building regulations, which will act as a stepping stone to a full uplift.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific rationale behind introducing the future homes standard in 2025 was not addressed. The answer provided general information about the standard but did not explain why it is set for that particular year.

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Q2 Sarah Olney Lib Dem Richmond Park
Climate
Context

The Liberal Democrats are advocating for more stringent targets to reduce carbon emissions in new home construction, aiming for a net zero standard.

Question

If I cannot persuade the Minister to be more ambitious in his deadline, perhaps I could encourage him to use the time to be more ambitious in his target. Instead of a target of reducing carbon emissions by 75%, will the Government set a target of net zero carbon for new builds?

Answer from Christopher Pincher

I am obliged to the hon. Lady. She seems to have forgotten the ambition of this Government, which has already been stated. We were the first Government in the world to legislate for net zero. She seems to have forgotten that just a few days ago, we introduced the green homes grant; 600,000 homes will benefit from that grant. She seems to have forgotten the work we have done to drive down poor energy performance certificate standards; now only 5% of homes are in the G category. We will certainly be ambitious. We will continue to work hard to build green homes for our country, and I am sure that when it comes to it and the hon. Lady stops talking, she will start to walk with us.

Not addressed: The questioner's specific ask about committing to a net zero carbon target was not directly addressed. The answer instead focused on past achievements and current initiatives without providing a concrete commitment.

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