To ask the Minister of Finance to detail any steps he will take to ensure building regulations help promote biodiversity.

My Department’s current work to improve Building Regulations is focused on crucial fire safety and energy related matters, while reform of our wider building safety regime is also being progressed by the Department for Communities.

Biodiversity measures are normally addressed as a planning matter and expanding the scope of Building Regulations would represent a significant shift in regulatory intent.

I nonetheless appreciate the importance of maintaining and encouraging biodiversity and I can assure you that my Department will continue to consider implications for biodiversity as part of its current and future work.

Our Building Regulations are typically reviewed in light of developments across the local administrations, which allows us to benefit from the research and lessons learned elsewhere, prior to any introduction here. Should appropriate nature friendly measures come forward elsewhere, these will also be considered in our future work plans.