Air conditioning in hospitals, care homes, schools and nurseries

That this House notes the recent period of extreme heat across the United Kingdom, which exposed significant shortcomings in the ability of many public buildings to provide safe and comfortable conditions for those occupying them; recognises that patients in hospitals, residents of care homes, young children in nurseries and pupils in schools are among those least able to escape excessive indoor temperatures; further notes that prolonged exposure to high indoor temperatures can adversely affect health, wellbeing, learning and recovery from illness; believes that no patient, elderly resident or child should be expected to endure unsafe temperatures in buildings providing essential public services; and therefore calls on the Government to introduce mandatory requirements for the installation of air conditioning or equivalent effective cooling systems in all newly built hospitals, care homes, schools and nurseries, and to establish a funded programme to retrofit existing facilities, ensuring that these buildings remain safe, fit for purpose and capable of protecting those most vulnerable during periods of extreme heat.