Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Deferred
Paragraph: 26
Voluntary quality standards for housing development fail to adequately protect residents' health.
Recommendation
An absence of hazards is not enough on its own to ensure that housing protects residents’ health. Space, design and location matter, and these should not be the preserve of those who are able to afford more expensive housing. Several standards exist to support the development of housing that is more widely protective of good health. Dwellings created under Permitted Development Rights (PDR), which comprise some of the most egregious examples of housing that is bad for health that we have seen during this inquiry, are now subject to minimum safeguards on space and light. These are welcome and much-needed but they are also an exception: adherence to any kind of quality standard is voluntary for the vast majority of developments and dwellings. Building enough homes is important, but the Government must require developers to aim higher, with quality housing and development that protects residents’ health.
Government Response Summary
The government deflected the recommendation by discussing the roles of local directors of public health and Integrated Care Boards, stating there are no plans to alter ICB membership requirements, rather than addressing housing quality standards, space, design, or developer requirements for health-protective housing.
Paragraph Reference:
26
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
We fully recognise and support the important roles played by local directors of public health and their teams, including in furthering core aims of integrated care systems to improve population health and tackle inequalities. However, we have no plans to alter the provisions of the Health and Care Act 2022 which set out mandatory membership requirements for integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs can exceed the legislative minimum requirements for membership to address local needs. It is for the local authority, with the ICB and other partner organisations, to determine who best represents the needs of local populations, and this can include directors of public health. Independent of issues of ICB membership, local authorities have a duty to provide ICBs with a public health advice service as per regulations made under the NHS Act 2006. Similarly, ICBs have a legal duty to seek appropriate advice on matters including prevention and the protection or improvement of public health. Local public health teams should be an integral part of multidisciplinary working across place-based partners. Guidance for ICBs on delivering a quality public health function has been published, endorsed by NHS England, the Association of Directors of Public Health, the Local Government Association and the Faculty of Public Health: NHS England » Delivering a quality public health function in integrated care boards DHSC will continue to work closely with NHS England and ICBs to ensure that the current arrangements are working. A cross-government approach