UKGBC responds to National Resilience Strategy call for evidence

UKGBC has responded to the National Resilience Strategy call for evidence consultation which closed yesterday (27th September 2021). The Strategy aims to outline a new vision for the UK’s national resilience and consider how to enhance the UK’s ability to respond to global challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The call for evidence aimed to understand current perceptions of risk and resilience, gather evidence on where improvements could be made, and gauge the UK’s appetite for change. The six main themes the consultation covered were: Risk and Resilience, Responsibility and Accountability, Partnerships, Community, Investment, and Resilience in an Interconnected World.

The consultation also included specific questions about the Civil Contingencies Act, which is expected to finish its review in March 2022.

UKGBC’s Resilience and NBS programme is currently focused on helping the built environment adapt to the impacts of climate change, embrace nature and promote biodiversity, by prioritising the use of Nature-based Solutions, in line with our Ambition Statement for the sector. Our programme research was used to inform our response.

Philip Box, UKGBC’s Public Affairs and Policy Officer said: 

“We welcome the Government’s call for evidence to inform the development of a new National Resilience Strategy, intended to provide an enhanced and progressive vision for national resilience and make the UK ‘the most resilient nation’.

As highlighted by the Climate Change Committee, a wide array of the UK’s social, economic and environmental goals are at risk of being undermined by a lack of resilience to the impacts of climate change. Of the eight priority climate risk areas that should be tackled in the next two years, the risks to human health, wellbeing, and productivity from increased exposure to heat in homes and other buildings were identified as amongst the most urgent to address and most severe.

We therefore strongly recommend that the National Resilience Strategy reflects the recommendations and advice of the Climate Change Committee and works urgently to support action to enhance the resilience of the built environment.”

You can read UKGBC’s full consultation response here.

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