The Department told us that it could have set higher standards from the outset for net- zero, but that doing so would likely reduce the number of homes delivered. We challenged the Department on this assertion, because it had not modelled the extent to which it might have been reduced. The Department replied that it ‘was probably not exactly where it wanted to be,’ at the end of the 2021 programme but will be better in the future.49

The Department told us that it could have set higher standards from the outset for net- zero, but that doing so would likely reduce the number of homes delivered. We challenged the Department on this assertion, because it had not modelled the extent to which it might have been reduced. The Department replied that it ‘was probably not exactly where it wanted to be,’ at the end of the 2021 programme but will be better in the future.49 Type: conclusion | Number: 19 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 5. PAC conclusion: New homes built under the Programme may need expensive retrofitting to meet net-zero standards in the future. 5. PAC recommendation: The Department should clearly set out the impact of including net-zero requirements in the next iteration of the Programme. 5.1 The government agree