Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Cold Homes Plan

Tuesday 13 October 2026 · 3 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 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department intends to introduce passive cooling measures such as shading, shutters, reflective windows, and cooler building materials in the warm homes plan.
  • The warm homes plan delivery is devolved to mayors, local government, and communities.
  • The Department is working with heritage organisations to find ways to retrofit challenging properties, especially in rural areas.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sonia Kumar
Housing Climate Local Government
Context

Sonia Kumar is concerned about the need for a cold homes plan to address the impacts of extreme heat, which resulted in thousands of excess deaths during the summer.

Question

Whether her Department is taking steps to implement a cold homes plan. This summer, extreme heat was responsible for thousands of excess deaths across the United Kingdom. Though I commend the Department's mission to tackle climate change and the root causes of extreme heat, does the Minister recognise that we must go faster and further in adapting and supporting households, especially vulnerable ones, with regard to extreme heat, and does she recognise that we need a cold homes plan across the country?

Answer from Katie White

The intention to introduce some passive cooling measures, whether that be shading, shutters, reflective windows or cooler building materials, in the warm homes plan has already been announced. The delivery of the warm homes plan, which has been devolved to mayors, local government and communities, presents an opportunity to shape that in the most appropriate ways locally. We want to go faster to make sure that new homes are built to resilient standards. That is why we have committed to the net zero standards and why we are reviewing the overheating building regulations to ensure that our homes are fit for the future.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Does not directly address the specific ask for a cold homes plan

How: Under Review, Delivery Devolved

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Q2 Sonia Kumar
Housing Climate Local Government
Context

Sonia Kumar is concerned about the need for a cold homes plan to address the impacts of extreme heat, which resulted in thousands of excess deaths during the summer.

Question

This summer, extreme heat was responsible for thousands of excess deaths across the United Kingdom. Though I commend the Department's mission to tackle climate change and the root causes of extreme heat, does the Minister recognise that we must go faster and further in adapting and supporting households, especially vulnerable ones, with regard to extreme heat, and does she recognise that we need a cold homes plan across the country?

Answer from Katie White

I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent question. As we have mentioned a few times today, the intention to introduce some passive cooling measures, whether that be shading, shutters, reflective windows or cooler building materials, in the warm homes plan has already been announced. The delivery of the warm homes plan, which has been devolved to mayors, local government and communities, presents an opportunity to shape that in the most appropriate ways locally. We want to go faster to make sure that new homes are built to resilient standards. That is why we have committed to the net zero standards and why we are reviewing the overheating building regulations to ensure that our homes are fit for the future.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Does not directly address the specific ask for a cold homes plan

How: Under Review, Delivery Devolved

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Q3 Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

Tim Farron is concerned about the challenge of retrofitting older properties, particularly those in rural communities like his constituency, where 25% of properties were built before 1900 and are solid-wall properties.

Question

Twenty-five per cent of the properties in my constituency were built before 1900. They are very hard to retrofit; they are solid-wall properties. It is therefore important that there should be a bespoke scheme to ensure that homes that are hard to retrofit, particularly in rural communities such as mine, can be made cooler or warmer in these times of more extreme temperatures.

Answer from Katie White

The hon. Member is right that some properties are more challenging to retrofit. That is why we are working with many heritage organisations to determine the best way to do that. We are constantly learning to make sure that there is mitigation and adaptation at the same time. I am happy to keep the hon. Member in the loop on the progress on that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Does not provide a specific scheme or commitment

How: Working With Heritage Organisations

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