Retrofit for the Future: Axis CLC Joins Parliamentary Discussion on Future-Proofing UK Housing
Axis CLC was recently invited to participate in the Future Homes, Skills and Innovation (FHSI) All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) -a cross-party forum bringing together parliamentarians and industry leaders to shape the future of UK housing quality, retrofit and resilience.
As a Tier One contractor specialising in property repairs, maintenance, and capital improvement, our involvement in this invitation-only session focused on the critical role of retrofit in the government’s national housing strategy.
Beyond New Build: The Retrofit Challenge
While much of the national conversation focuses on the target to build 1.5 million new homes, the FHSI APPG highlighted a vital truth: the homes we retrofit today must not undermine public trust tomorrow.
As a principal contractor for local authorities, housing associations, the MOD and the NHS, Axis CLC (through our group companies Axis, CLC, and Concept) provides the technical expertise required to solve the "retrofit challenge". We align with the government’s Warm Homes Plan by delivering large-scale decarbonisation and maintenance programs that transform existing properties into energy-efficient, resilient assets and healthier homes.
Building Resilience into Existing Homes
The UK has a housing stock challenge that no amount of new construction alone will solve. Of the 29 million existing homes in England, the vast majority fall short of the energy performance, resilience and health standards that residents deserve. The challenge of improving what we already have - at pace and at scale - is where the most urgent work lies. It is also where Axis CLC operates every single day.
Being invited to contribute to the FHSI APPG session on 23rd February reflects our position at the heart of this agenda. As a tier one principal contractor delivering maintenance, compliance and decarbonisation across some of the UK’s most critical public sector estates, we are not observers of the retrofit challenge - we are its front-line delivery partners.
Four Foundations for Getting Retrofit Right
- Expert contributors from UK Green Building Council, the Design Council, Homes England, Future Homes Hub, NHBC and the Retrofit Standards Taskforce collectively identified four foundations that must underpin quality delivery:
- Coherent and simplified standards - The current regulatory landscape is fragmented. Energy performance, building safety, fuel poverty and decency standards must reinforce each other rather than compete. A clearer accreditation framework is essential to rebuilding consumer confidence and professional accountability.
- Whole-home, performance-led delivery - Retrofit cannot be approached in isolation. Fabric performance, ventilation, heating and occupant health are interconnected. Compliance on paper is not enough - measured outcomes in practice must define success. And this aligns with Axis approach to holistic total asset maintenance
- Long-term policy stability - Skills pipelines, supply chains and SME capacity cannot function on stop-start policy signals. The managed transition from ECO4 to the Warm Homes Plan is critical. Without stability, the workforce that delivers this work cannot be sustained.
- Investment in skills as infrastructure - The green workforce required to deliver retrofit at national scale does not yet exist in sufficient numbers. Colleges, installers and manufacturers need visibility and continuity. Embedding skills development earlier, including at school level, was highlighted as essential.
Health, Homes and the Human Case for Better Retrofit
One of the most powerful themes of the session was the direct link between housing quality and public health. Research cited at the event attributed a direct cost of £1.4 billion annually to health inequalities caused by cold and damp homes - with around £900 million per year attributable to housing defects. Children are being disadvantaged before they reach the classroom. Families are trapped in homes that make them ill.
As contributors from the Retrofit Standards Taskforce noted, the framing matters: this is not a debate about energy ratings or carbon targets in the abstract - it is about the health and wellbeing of the people who live in these homes. That is a message Axis CLC believes in deeply. Our work is ultimately about ensuring that the properties in our care are safe, warm, healthy, efficient and genuinely fit for the people who call them home.
Where Axis CLC Fits: Delivery at Scale
Through our group companies - Axis, CLC and Concept - we deliver the full range of services that the APPG identified as critical to the retrofit and housing improvement agenda:
- Decarbonisation and retrofit programmes, delivered to PAS 2035 compliance standards, improving energy performance and reducing bills for social housing residents
- Planned and responsive maintenance across housing association, local authority, NHS, defence and education estates - keeping properties safe, warm and performing year-round
- Building compliance and fire safety services that protect occupants and keep landlords aligned with evolving regulatory requirements
- Refurbishment and capital improvement programmes that upgrade ageing stock without creating tomorrow’s maintenance liabilities
- Investment in our workforce - supporting green job creation and skills development in the communities where we work with an award winning apprentice programme
Our involvement in the FHSI APPG is a reflection of that commitment. It is not enough to deliver the work — we want to help shape the standards, skills frameworks and policy conditions that determine whether retrofit is done well, at scale, and in a way that genuinely improves lives. The homes we are improving today must not become the problem of 2040.