Environmental sustainability and housing growth

Environmental Audit Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 18 Nov 2024 Parliament page
The Environmental Audit Committee is seeking views on how the Government’s proposed reforms to national planning policy and housebuilding targets might affect environmental protections and current approaches to sustainable development.Read the terms of reference and find out how to submit written evidence through the Committee's evidence portal here . Read more
45 Recommendations
22 Conclusions
1 Report
6 Oral sessions
2 Letters
6 Events
Activity timeline 16 events
13 Mar
2026
Report published
11 Mar
2026
Correspondence
26 Feb
2026
Correspondence
16 Nov
2025
Report published
21 Jul
2025
Oral evidence
21 Jul
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
30 Jun
2025
Oral evidence
30 Jun
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
4 Jun
2025
Oral evidence
4 Jun
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
7 May
2025
Oral evidence
7 May
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 6 sessions
21 Jul 2025
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Mary Creagh MP · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Matthew Pennycook MP · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Nick Barter · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs William Burgon · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
30 Jun 2025
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Panel 1
Eamonn Boylan · Homes England Marian Spain · Natural England Philip Duffy · Environment Agency
4 Jun 2025
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Panel 1; Panel 2
Brian Berry · Federation of Master Builders David King · Meadfleet Dr Rufus Howard · Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment Emma Toovey · Environment Bank Niall McGann · Fexco Sue Searle · Ecology Training UK
7 May 2025
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Panel 1; Panel 2
Ashley Spearing · Berkeley Group Ben Murphy · The Duchy of Cornwall Chris Thompson · Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Kenny Duncan · Crest Nicholson
5 Feb 2025
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Panel 1; Panel 2
Ben Kite · Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management Charlotte Neal · Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Dr Iain Boulton · Association of Local Government Ecologists (ALGE) Dr John Martin · School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth Dr Victoria Hills · Royal Town Planning Institute Sarah Postlethwaite · North Northamptonshire Council
15 Jan 2025
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Panel 1; Panel 2
Alistair Smyth · National Housing Federation Becky Pullinger · The Wildlife Trusts Charles Trew · Shelter Ed Lockhart · Future Homes Hub Erika Lewis · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Professor Rokia Raslan · University College London
Title HC No. Published Items Response
6th Report - Environmental sustainability and housing growth HC 439 16 Nov 2025 67 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
10 results
Clear
5 Conclusion Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
NPPF's presumption for sustainable development prioritises economic growth over environmental protection
We have heard strong and repeated concerns that the environment could be sidelined in the presumption for sustainable development, and that the current revision of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) could result in unsustainable and speculative development. The evidence … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the challenge of balancing competing land needs and states that a new national infrastructure spatial tool is being developed to integrate strategies, data, and tools, including environmental considerations, for housing, growth, and land use.
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15 Recommendation Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Avoid viewing nature as an inconvenience or blocker to new housebuilding projects.
The Government must not veer down the path of viewing nature as an inconvenience or blocker to housebuilding. In most cases housing delivery is delayed or challenged due to unclear and conflicting policies, land banking and skills shortages. Using nature … Read more
Government Response
The government responds by detailing the monitoring and reporting requirements for the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) and Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), asserting that these robust safeguards will ensure positive environmental outcomes are secured alongside development, implicitly addressing the concern about nature being viewed as a blocker.
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35 Conclusion Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Green infrastructure promotion within the planning system remains insufficient despite NPPF recognition.
We recognise and welcome the recognition of the importance of green infrastructure in the latest revision of the NPPF. However, we heard that more can be done to promote it within the planning system. (Conclusion, Paragraph 126)
Government Response
The government agrees on strengthening early career pathways, expanding graduate schemes, and supporting professionals in planning, including ecology-related roles, to ensure the planning system has the necessary expertise, but does not directly detail new measures to promote green infrastructure within the system.
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41 Recommendation Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Review taxation policies to incentivise homeowners, housebuilders, landlords, and tenants towards low-carbon homes.
The Government should consider what other steps it could take to encourage low-carbon approaches to building, including reviewing taxation policies to incentivise home owners, housebuilders, landlords and tenants to favour homes with lower levels of embodied carbon. (Recommendation, Paragraph 143) Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of addressing embodied carbon and is assessing evidence to consider the best way forward, while also keeping all taxes under review.
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43 Recommendation Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Accompany RICS whole life carbon assessment framework amendments with a formal statement.
We would encourage any amendments made to the RICS whole life carbon assessment framework to be accompanied with a formal statement, detailing the amendments and confirming that they have been approved to become part of the UK industry standard. This … Read more
Government Response
The government is not currently considering adopting the RICS methodology as the UK industry standard for whole-life carbon assessments, but will keep it under review.
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45 Conclusion Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Revised NPPF lacks explicit reference to embodied carbon, limiting emission reduction.
The revised NPPF does not contain explicit reference to embodied carbon, despite a widely held opinion that the NPPF must play a central role in supporting low-carbon housing. This oversight limits the NPPF’s ability to minimise carbon emissions from new … Read more
Government Response
The government published a consultation on a new NPPF in December 2025, including proposed changes to climate change policies. They are still reviewing the evidence on measuring embodied carbon and considering policy options, citing other related initiatives already underway.
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46 Recommendation Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Update NPPF revision with clearer expectations and conduct consultation on embodied carbon reduction.
The December 2024 revision of the NPPF should be updated to include clearer and stronger expectations on embodied carbon for new developments. The current Government should also honour the promise made by the previous Government and conduct a consultation on … Read more
Government Response
The government published a consultation on a new NPPF in December 2025, including proposed changes to climate change policies. They are still reviewing the evidence on measuring embodied carbon and considering policy options, citing other related initiatives already underway.
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47 Conclusion Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Alternative building materials effectively reduce embodied carbon and support net zero ambitions.
Alternative building materials, such as timber and hemp, offer practical and effective ways to reduce the embodied carbon of buildings. Their use supports Government ambitions to reach net zero and continue to deliver on their sustainable housing target, in addition … Read more
Government Response
The government believes more can be done to encourage sustainable practices across the construction products sector, while considering safety, productivity, innovation and growth. The government references the Construction Products Reform White Paper and says it intends to remain aligned with the EU regime.
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48 Recommendation Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Introduce eco-labelling for building products to popularise low-carbon materials in housebuilding.
Whilst the Government has taken initial steps to promote timber through the Timber Construction Roadmap, there remains a lack of clear incentives and guidance to encourage the adoption of low-carbon material in housebuilding. The Committee believes the Government should take … Read more
Government Response
The government states that more can be done to encourage, incentivise, and implement environmental and sustainable practices across the construction products sector, and that it intends to remain aligned to the EU regime, but stops short of committing to eco-labelling for building products while it analyses consultation responses.
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52 Recommendation Acknowledged
6th Report - Environmental sustain…
Prioritise and incentivise building retrofitting over demolition by strengthening reuse requirements and reducing VAT.
Government should prioritise and incentivise retrofitting over demolition by strengthening requirements to reuse, repurpose and refurbish buildings before any demolition. It is contrary to the Government’s environmental objectives to incentivise carbon-intensive new building over the re-use of existing sites. To … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of reusing existing buildings and states that it encourages this through the VAT system with a reduced rate of 5% for certain residential renovations, but states that any further reduction in VAT rates must represent value for money and is the responsibility of the Chancellor.
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Government Response AI assessment · 67 of 45 classified
Accepted 17
Accepted in Part 4
Acknowledged 10
Not Addressed 31
Rejected 5
Total 45 recs + 22 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
11 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning relating to the government response to the committee following the publication of the Environmental Sustainability and Housing Growth report, 4 March 2026
Parliament page
26 Feb 2026 From committee Letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government relating to the Government response to the Environmental Audit Committee report on Environmental sustainability and housing growth, 25 February 2026
Parliament page