Memorandum submitted by the Association
of British Insurers
I am writing to you in response to the Communities
and Local Government Select Committee inquiry into Existing
Housing and Climate Change. The Association of British Insurers
(ABI) has been leading the debate on the need to adapt our planning
regime and building stock to the consequences of climate change.
Addressing the resilience against extreme weather of new and existing
housing stock is a vital part of this.
If the Government is to meet its climate change
targets, it must develop a comprehensive strategy for dealing
with the existing housing stock. Increasing the energy efficiency
of existing homes is an important part of this. The ABI welcomes
the significant action being taken to address efficiency and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in the package of recent proposals put
forward by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
However, whilst there is no doubt that reducing
carbon emissions will help prevent future damage, the climate
will also continue to change over the next 30-40 years in any
case because of historic emissions. We therefore need to take
action now to protect our communities.
Climate change will result in significant impacts
on housing. Increasing frequency and severity of storms and floods
will lead to more frequent and costly repairs, and declining housing
quality in difficult locations. Higher temperatures will result
in health problems. This requires the strengthening of building
standards to deal with more frequent extreme weather conditions,
together with higher standards for social housing and housing
for vulnerable groups. The poor will suffer most here in the UK,
as abroad.
Our strong belief is that the planning regime
needs to stop construction of new housing and commercial buildings
in high-risk areas. Since 2002 over 800 developments have gone
ahead against the Environment Agency's advice that the risk of
flood was too great. The EA now has new powers and we are urging
local planning authorities to work with them to ensure the risks
associated with new developments, including the flood risk to
existing properties, are properly understood and acted upon by
the relevant planning committee.
Where developments are agreed, measures should
be taken to protect the development itself and neighbouring properties
from the risks of river or coastal flooding, and from the increased
risk of drainage problems. This requires strong directions (and
sanctions) from the planning process, tougher building regulations,
new measures to make sustainable drainage systems practical and
a developer's "connection charge" to fund protection
for the wider community.
Good quality housing addresses the social and
environmental needs of people today as well as future generations.
It should be sustainable in every sense of the word—minimising
the impact on the local environment and natural resources, adaptable,
able to cope with changing environmental conditions and social
needs. By meeting these requirements, good quality housing will
remain insurable and mortgagable.
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