The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Healthy Homes and Buildings has launched its first consultation paper, entitled: ‘Building our Future: Laying the Foundations for Healthy Homes and Buildings,’ and BEAMA is calling on industry to submit responses and submissions of evidence to help build a strong case for healthy buildings.
The Healthy Homes and Buildings APPG was launched in May 2016 to provide a platform in Parliament to discuss the key health problems being caused through poor quality, damp, noisy, poorly ventilated and inefficient homes and buildings, as well as to demonstrate robust, holistic and innovative solutions.
The Green Paper lays out the political economic and business case for building healthy homes and buildings and makes a number of outline recommendations to government. These include a more joined-up approach towards health and building in government departments, better standards for new-build and making housing, including renovation, an infrastructure priority.
BEAMA, a strong supporter of the group, is an advocate of greater awareness of the impacts of poor indoor air quality in UK homes and is campaigning to improve ventilation across the country, working with consumers, policy makers and industry.
Colin Timmins of BEAMA, said: “The APPG was launched last year and has wasted no time in gathering the evidence of the need to improve standards in housing and building provision. Now the APPG wants to know what can be done to ensure that homes and buildings are renovated and built to standards that ensure its occupants can enjoy good health – we’re encouraging our partners across industry to read the paper and provide ideas, solutions and feedback”.
Commenting in the Green Paper, Jim Shannon MP, chairman of the APPG, said: “The government needs to ensure it has a public health focus that properly considers the indoor environment as much as the external environment. For example, recognising that improving indoor air quality is just as much a health priority as tackling outdoor air quality, is a critical first step in the right direction.”
The APPG’s Green Paper is open for consultation until September 30, 2017 and responses will help to form the basis of the APPG’s policy suggestions to government.
To read, download and respond to the consultation, visit: www.healthyhomesbuildings.org.uk.