Back to School: How to turn a promising start into top marks

As MPs return to Westminster, the real tests begin — from retrofit to planning reform, UKGBC's Senior Policy Advisor Kirsty Girvan explores what needs to be on the government’s policy timetable if it wants to graduate from promise to performance.
Clean growth

The holidays are drawing to a close, and with suntans fading and inboxes groaning, ministers and MPs will soon be trudging ‘back to school’ through the gates of Westminster for the start of year two.

Last September, Labour turned up bright-eyed with a fresh mandate and a mission-driven promise to finally do the homework on climate, housing, and energy. And they’ve settled in well: made decent progress on warm homes, retrofit funding and solar policy, got their head around the planning system (sort of), and upped the engagement with our industry. Confidence is growing and there’s a definite sense of potential.

But year one was the warm-up term. The coursework showed promise, but now the real tests begin. The to-do list for year two is long and growing: publish the Warm Homes Plan, finalise the Future Homes Standard, pass the Planning Bill without wrecking nature in the process, and give the country’s draughtiest homes a fighting chance before the winter break. Add to that ongoing consultations on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), Biodiversity Net-Gain (BNG), low-carbon products, and resilience, and suddenly it’s looking less like a pop quiz and more like finals.

So what does UKGBC want to see on the class schedule for the year ahead?

it’s time to deliver the national action plan.”

Domestic retrofit has been firmly added to the syllabus, but now it’s time to deliver the national action plan. The Warm Homes Plan must reflect real-life lessons in retrofit delivery from local authorities, community groups, place-based pilots and industry expertise. And while the recently confirmed £13.2bn investment into retrofit over the next five years is a welcome (and hard won) step, it’s still short of the £64bn our Home Retrofit Investment Calculator showed was needed over ten years to transform our coldest homes into resilient, healthy, affordable places to live.

Through proposals like a Warm Homes Stamp Duty incentive, support for commercial retrofit, and new strategies for place-based delivery, we’re pushing for a joined-up national plan that supports local delivery and unlocks long-term investment from both the public and private sector. Our work in Scotland on the Heat in Buildings Strategy and Just Transition Plan aims to ensure industry voices shape policy that’s practical, fair, and future-proofed.

Last year’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill signalled intent, and this year we’re striving to make sure climate, nature and community resilience are included in every decision, not stapled on at the end. There’s important work ahead on embodied carbon regulation, scaling up circular construction, and making sure the Future Homes Standard does what it says on the tin – provide homes that are fit for the future (that means no new gas boilers and mandatory solar PV). Hopefully this year the government can start to look ahead to the next iteration of building regulations which should include embodied carbon limits, resilience measures, and incentives for development which actively improve places, wellbeing, and biodiversity. This kind of thinking is what will get top marks, not just a participation certificate.

When Parliament returns this September, and MPs are faced with record floods or heatwaves across the country, they might finally ask: why are we still designing buildings that can’t cope with extreme heat or torrential rain? Fortunately, UKGBC’s Climate Resilience Roadmap sets out exactly what needs to change – from stronger regulation and smarter investment, to clear, joined-up accountability across government. This year, we’ll be pushing for a renewed and enhanced national adaptation strategy that actually protects communities, buildings, and businesses alike. Resilience can’t remain a footnote it needs to be part of every lesson plan.  

Labour’s first year brought energy, engagement, and a much-needed reset. Confidence is growing, but the hard work is only just beginning. With so much riding on year two, we can’t afford for government to bunk off or get distracted by playground politics. So sharpen your HB pencils and open your policy textbooks – there’s plenty to do before the bell rings. And if you want to work with us to raise the grade, get in touch.

Thank you to UKGBC’s policy partners for supporting our advocacy work this year.

Policy & Advocacy

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