Baby With Bathwater – Conservatives Plan To Kill The Future Homes Standard

Monday 5 October Conservative Party Conference: Shadow Chancellor pledges to cut the cost of building a new home by £50,000…removing planning, environmental and net-zero-related costs.

Andrew Griffith has been congratulated and condemned…the first because the UK needs homes to be built more cheaply and more quickly; the second because he seems not to understand that eliminating the Future Homes Standard (first mooted under Boris Johnson) will lead to homes that seem cheaper at the outset but cost more in energy use over their lifetime.

Griffith described the Conservative proposals as part of the ‘most ambitious deregulation project in a generation’.

The announcement came the day before the Home Builders Federation (HBF) panel debate on the viability of small and medium-sized sites.

Shadow Chancellor’s announcements

In his conference speech and accompanying press notes (which we are grateful to the HBF for sharing, Griffith pledged to:

• Scrap the Future Homes Standard/Part L and other rules requiring developers to reduce carbon emissions by up to 75%, including requirements for low-carbon heating.
• Replace Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy with a ‘simple, transparent developer charge’ to make development costs more predictable and accelerate planning approvals. Affordable housing requirements would be incorporated into this single charge.
• Abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency and bring their functions into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
• Reduce planning red tape to improve the viability of housing developments and accelerate construction.
• Abolish stamp duty on primary residences.

Easier tax

Griffith added: “As well as cutting taxes, tax simplification will be a mission for every Treasury minister. Our aim is to simplify taxes for small businesses and the self-employed and review Making Tax Digital and IR35. Because in this party, in our party, it is the people who take a risk, start a business and create jobs whom we will always champion.”

Deregulation FMB warning

Conservative Party proposals to scrap the Future Homes Standard; introduce a new single developer levy; and abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency may help small builders deliver more homes but any future deregulation programme needs to be proportionate to ensure our new homes are fit for the future, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB commented: “The Future Homes Standard does need to work better for smaller house builders without becoming overly complex. However, if a future Conservative government revisits the standard, it must not give up on the ambition to build warmer, greener and more energy-efficient homes. The Shadow Chancellor should work with small builders to develop a practical approach based on good design and clear outcomes, giving firms the confidence to invest in the skills and methods needed to deliver it.

“Cutting poorly developed regulation could help get Britain building, however deregulation must be proportionate as effective laws lead to improvements. Essential environmental protections and sensible solutions to improve homes cannot simply be swept away. A consequence may be fewer homes developed as opposition rises if provisions to keep local communities safe are scrapped. Previous bonfires of regulation have shown that removing rules without a workable replacement can create uncertainty and risk weakening the standards that keep buildings safe. The test for any future government must be whether reform helps responsible local builders deliver more high-quality homes, not simply how many rules or bodies it abolishes.”

Picture: Andrew Griffith, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.