Explore our Policy Documents | UKGBC /our-work-types/policy-document/ The voice of our sustainable built environment Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:41:47 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2023/02/cropped-UKGBC-favicon-1.png Explore our Policy Documents | UKGBC /our-work-types/policy-document/ 32 32 Consultation Response: National Planning Policy Framework 2025 /resources/consultation-response-national-planning-policy-framework-2025/ Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:59:45 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=69476 UKGBC responds to the new Government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consultation 2025.

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We welcome several aspects of the draft NPPF. The clearer statement of the purpose of planning, stronger support for Local Plans, improved clarity on design, transport and viability, encouragement of higher-density development within settlements, and a more structured framework are all positive steps which provide a more usable and transparent system.

But the scale of the climate and nature crisis, rising health inequalities and growing pressures on communities demands a planning system that is ambitious, coherent and firmly rooted in the long-term public interest. Planning must shape places that are climate resilient, nature-rich, healthy and genuinely affordable. The draft NPPF goes someway to improving this, but leaves gaps in key areas crucial to deliver the development we need.

In this response, drawn from wide consultation with our members, we advocate for a clear legal alignment with the Climate Change and Environment Acts in the forthcoming Planning Bill and much stronger new building standards to put the country on track for success.

Download our full response here

Read our response to the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) 2025

UKGBC NPFF consultation response 2025

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Warm Homes Stamp Duty Incentive Calculator /resources/warm-homes-stamp-duty-incentive-calculator/ Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:25:17 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=67728 An interactive page illustrating how a Warm Homes Stamp Duty Incentive could work and designed to encourage homeowners and buyers towards low-carbon upgrades.

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The Warm Homes Stamp Duty Incentive is a proposal to transform the retrofit market by linking Stamp Duty Land Tax to a home’s energy performance and offering rebates for post-purchase efficiency improvements. It is designed to encourage millions of homeowners and buyers towards low-carbon upgrades, unlocking billions in private investment and accelerating the UK’s journey to net zero.

This online tool brings the Incentive to life. It takes the user on a journey as a prospective homebuyer, showing how a simple reform to Stamp Duty could reshape the choices we make about the energy performance of our homes. It walks you through the process as you select a house type and price, then, after the stamp duty has been calculated, you can add upgrades like insulation, heat pumps, or double glazing to explore how this home could be improved, and discover how much rebate you’d get back.

The calculator is not to be used as a tool for stamp duty calculation – it’s a concept illustration of how policy reform could transform the housing market. It is aimed at showing policymakers and campaigners how a modest adjustment to Stamp Duty can help homebuyers value energy efficiency, plan upgrades at the point of purchase, and accelerate the UK’s journey to warmer, lower-cost, low-carbon homes.

Policy Partners

Thank you to our Policy Partners for their ongoing and generous support

Sign up as a supporter of our stamp duty proposal

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Growing the Market for Low Carbon Industrial Products Consultation Response /resources/growing-the-market-for-low-carbon-industrial-products/ Thu, 11 Sep 2025 11:56:25 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=67737 UKGBC responds to the Government's consultation on stimulating demand for low carbon industrial products.

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This is a response to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s consultation on growing the market for low carbon industrial products, which outlines various proposals to define carbon intensity, set product standards, leverage public procurement, encourage uptake, and improve market transparency.

Heavy industries such as steel and cement are among the UK’s most significant sources of industrial emissions, and decarbonising these sectors is essential if the UK is to meet its net zero by 2050 target.

Embodied carbon from construction materials alone accounts for around one in ten tonnes of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. Yet there is currently no national regulation to reduce these emissions, despite strong industry support and the urgency of our climate commitments.

This consultation as a first step in developing the policy framework needed to grow the market for low carbon industrial products. UKGBC have used our response as an opportunity to support measures that will enable the construction sector to make informed, low-carbon choices, and accelerate the transition to a sustainable built environment.

Read our response here

UKGBC Response – Low-carbon Industrial Products Consultation

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Improving the Energy Efficiency of Socially Rented Homes Consultation Response /resources/improving-the-energy-efficiency-of-socially-rented-homes-consultation-response/ Mon, 08 Sep 2025 11:23:14 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=67702 UKGBC has responded to the Government's consultation on minimum energy efficiency standards for socially rented homes.

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 This is a response to the which sets out proposals for a new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) for the SRS, including: metrics to define compliance; transitional arrangements; a per-property spend exemption; and exemptions for cases such as tenant refusal.

UKGBC welcomes this consultation and the government’s renewed commitment to improving energy efficiency in the social rented sector (SRS). Achieving net zero and addressing fuel poverty must include the SRS, which provides homes for some of the lowest-income households in the country. Too many homes remain cold, inefficient, and costly to run, and upgrading them is essential to tackling inequality, improving health outcomes, and meeting climate goals.

Read our response here

UKGBC Response – MEES for SRH Consultation Response

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A Reformed Decent Homes Standard Consultation Response /resources/a-reformed-decent-homes-standard-consultation-response/ Mon, 08 Sep 2025 11:21:47 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=67707 UKGBC responds to the Government's consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes.

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This is a response to the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government’s consultation on reformations to the Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes. The Decent Homes Standard currently sets minimum requirements for social housing, but this consultation proposes important reforms to update and expand its scope. By extending the Standard to the private rented sector, it will create parity across tenures and help prevent tenants being forced to live in substandard conditions. The reforms also strengthen health and safety protections by addressing hazards such as damp, mould, and heating system failures, while updating requirements to comply with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES).

Ensuring that everyone has a safe, healthy, and decent home to live in is vital to public health, individual wellbeing, and the long-term resilience of our housing stock. We therefore strongly support the government’s intention to modernise the Standard, extend it to the private rented sector, and strengthen its alignment with wider energy and climate policy.

UKGBC welcomes the opportunity to respond to the relevant sections of this consultation and support the government in bringing about these reforms which must support decarbonisation, climate resilience, and long-term social and health benefits, from reducing fuel poverty to improving mental and physical health, and helping residents feel more pride in their homes and communities.

Read our response here

UKGBC Response – Decent Homes Standard Reform Response

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UKGBC campaigns to secure Warm Homes Plan funding /resources/ukgbc-campaigns-to-secure-warm-homes-plan-funding/ Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:25:38 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=65272 Together with other NGOs, the UKGBC called on the Labour government to commit to their £13.2bn investment into the Warm Homes Plan.

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UKGBC wrote a joint letter to Rt Hon Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, calling on Labour to honour its manifesto pledge to increase funding for home energy efficiency to £13.2 billion this Parliament.

The Warm Homes Plan could help save nearly 3 million households £220 on average off their energy bills. If funding is maintained at the trajectory set out in the 2024 Autumn Budget, then 1.5 million households would lose out on this saving. Many of those affected are likely to be vulnerable, as featured in .

We also coordinated a letter from businesses working on home upgrades to ensure the full £13.2bn is delivered. This was signed by many of our retrofit members who will work as government partner to deliver upgrades across the country, as featured in the .

 

 

Update: We are pleased that in the Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday 11th July the Government confirmed the full £13.2n would be invested into the Warm Homes Plan. Read our full response here.

Download the letters

Read the full business letter here

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Read the full NGO letter here

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Boiler Upgrade Scheme Consultation Response /resources/boiler-upgrade-scheme-consultation-response/ Wed, 11 Jun 2025 15:22:26 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=65236 UKGBC's responds to the first part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).

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The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), launched in 2022, seeks to accelerate the decarbonisation of heats in domestic and small non-domestic buildings in the UK. This consultation sought views on the on the proposals included in the scheme. Download and read UKGBC’s response below.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme Consultation Response

BUS Consultation Response

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Construction Products Reform Consultation Response /resources/construction-products-reform-consultation-response/ Thu, 22 May 2025 10:19:11 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=64858 Together with members, UKGBC has responded to the Government's green paper consultation on construction products reform which aims to improve the transparency and traceability of construction products in the UK.

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As part of UKGBC’s work with our Circular Economy Forum, we have responded to the chapters of this consultation which invite input into the digitalisation and traceability of data for building products and how environmental data can be included to encourage reporting. The opportunity to include the environmental data credentials as mandatory would help signal to the market that that the measurement and reporting of this data is important and enable project teams to make more informed decisions on the environmental impact of the materials they are selecting.

Digital tools can support better transparency of data and help practitioners make decisions to reduce environmental impacts and waste. Mirroring the digital product passport requirement and other regulations from the EU will help manufacturers streamline their reporting whilst expanding the transparency of data available on construction projects. The digital product passport could also support better traceability of products by acting as a live document which is machine-readable and can be used through the design, in-use, and end-of-life of the product. With this information decisions can be made on the environmental impact, and circularity, helping reduce waste from the construction sector.

Read our full response here

Construction Products Reform Green Paper – UKGBC Response

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Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Rented Homes Consultation Response /resources/consultation-response-minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-for-homes/ Fri, 02 May 2025 10:38:46 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=64622 This is a response to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s ‘Improving the…

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This is a response to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s consultation, concerning changes to Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in the residential sector.

The Government is proposing to raise the minimum energy efficiency standard required of privately rented homes in England and Wales to the equivalent of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C by 2030.

UKGBC welcomes this consultation and the government’s proposed changes to the MEES in the private rented sector (PRS). Tackling fuel poverty and decarbonising our homes must include upgrades within the PRS and address the needs of both tenants and landlords. Despite existing support schemes, uptake remains low and more effective solutions are needed to accelerate this shift.

Read UKGBC’s full response below.

Download the consultation response here

MEES for PRS Consultation Response

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Embodied Carbon Briefing /resources/embodied-carbon-briefing/ Tue, 08 Apr 2025 14:07:48 +0000 /?post_type=resource&p=64243 Around 1 in 10 tonnes of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions are ‘embodied’ carbon…

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Around 1 in 10 tonnes of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions are ‘embodied’ carbon emissions related to the production and use of construction materials.

Yet there is no national UK policy or regulation to reduce these emissions, despite our climate legislation and support from the construction sector.

This briefing outlines the importance of regulating embodied carbon in the built environment.

Embodied Carbon briefing

Download our Embodied Carbon briefing here

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