Recommendations & Conclusions
9 items
2
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
We recommend that the Met Office and UKHSA incorporate explicit messaging and/ or metrics regarding the effects of humidity levels as well as temperature into weather forecasts and heat-health alerts. (Paragraph 20) The urban heat island effect and nature-based solutions
Government response. The government discusses its recognition of green infrastructure benefits, responsibility of local authorities for urban green spaces, and keeping green roof incentives under review, without addressing the recommendation for explicit humidity messaging in weather forecasts.
4
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
We recommend that the Government take action to expand urban green space, particularly in disadvantaged areas. At a minimum these actions ought to include: (i) introducing a statutory requirement on local authorities to protect green space; (ii) mandating local authorities in urban areas to use the Green Infrastructure Framework; and …
Government response. The government states it is running a call for evidence on Part O of the Building Regulations, specifically regarding its application to material changes of use, to inform future reviews and updates. This does not address expanding urban green space, …
5
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
We recommend that the Government evaluate the case for amending Part L of the Building Regulations to encourage the use of ceiling fans (for example, by including locally controlled air movement in the definition of comfort).
Government response. The government is running a call for evidence on Part O of the Building Regulations to understand omissions or issues, which will inform future updates. This response does not address evaluating the case for amending Part L to encourage the …
11
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
We urge the Government to respond as soon as possible to its consultation on improving home energy performance through lenders which closed in February 2021. Ministers must rapidly bring forward proposals to encourage access to low-cost finance for householders to invest in home improvements which can increase energy efficiency and …
Government response. The government plans to respond to the consultation in 2024. It highlights an existing 'Green Home Finance Accelerator programme' which is supporting the development and piloting of green finance products until March 2025 to inform future policy, rather than rapidly …
12
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
We further recommend that the Government publishes any interim or draft recommendations made by the Energy Efficiency Taskforce before it was disbanded.
Government response. The government's response discusses UKHSA's position on cooling centers, noting difficulty in evaluating their impact and an absence of specific recommendations for their use, while highlighting a toolkit for local organizations to deliver and evaluate warm spaces and ongoing review …
13
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
We urge the Government to set out, in its response to this report, the targets (if any) which Ministers have set for growth in the supply chain of competent retrofit installers, and the progress made against these targets to date. If no targets have yet been set, we recommend that …
Government response. The government states DESNZ will continue engaging with the Electricity System Operator and Ofgem on modelling developments and updating electricity demand forecasting, without addressing targets for retrofit installer supply chain growth or progress against such targets.
15
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
The naming of heatwaves could assist in helping the public to recognise such extreme weather events as a threat to health and wellbeing in the same way as named storms. We recommend that the Met Office trial the naming of heatwaves for 2024 with a view to making this permanent …
Government response. The government states Defra is reviewing unspecified regulations to achieve greater emissions savings for net zero targets, with proposals to be consulted upon. This response does not address the recommendation to trial the naming of heatwaves.
16
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
While there is potential for cooling centres to be an important part of future resilience measures for those most vulnerable to heat impacts, evidence of their effectiveness is not clear cut at present. We recommend that UKHSA evaluate the potential use of cooling centre initiatives as a policy response to …
Government response. The government deferred the recommendation, stating that evidence on the efficacy of cooling centres is currently limited, which constrains the development of policy advice. UKHSA will work with research partners to address these evidence gaps and continue to review literature …
19
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sust…
Deferred
We recommend that the Government evaluate the merits of introducing a takeback scheme in England to improve disposal practices regarding cooling equipment, thereby helping to minimise F-gas leakage, with a view to introducing a pilot takeback scheme in England and promoting its merits to the administrations in Scotland, Wales and …
Government response. The government deferred the recommendation, stating that Defra is reviewing the F-gas Regulation and will consult on proposals for changes in due course, rather than specifically committing to evaluate and pilot a takeback scheme now.