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Written question asked by Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 29 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. It was answered by Matthew Pennycook (Labour) on Monday, 8 June 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Housing: Bricks

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to set national standards for minimum numbers of swift bricks in (a) new developments and (b) certain home extensions.

Answer

The government recognises that swift bricks are a vital means of addressing the long-term decline of the breeding swift population. While swift brick coverage is increasing, we made clear during the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that we were committed to doing more to drive up swift brick installation.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included a new policy that would require all developments to include swift bricks into their construction unless compelling technical reasons would prevent their use or make them ineffective.

This would represent a significant strengthening of expectations already in place and we would expect the end result to be at least one swift brick in every new brick built house unless there are legitimate reasons why installation would not be appropriate.

We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

As an interim step, we published updated Planning Practice Guidance setting out how swift bricks are expected to be used in new developments.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
5013
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Construction Housing Standards Bricks Swifts
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk