The deputy prime minister has welcomed a report calling for a cut in stamp duty on environmentally-friendly homes.

Government Response: Office of the Deputry Prime Minister

Deputy prime minister John Prescott said: "High quality, well designed buildings are paramount to creating places where people want to live and work, now and in the future.

"You only have to look across the city landscape to see new standards being set combining architectural excellence with environmental efficiency, such as Lord Foster's 'gherkin' in London, Greenwich Millennium Village or Lacuna housing development in Kent.

"We need to take a lead from the very best and see how these standards can be achieved for all of our buildings. That's why I welcome today's proposals for a code for sustainable buildings.

"We must act now to improve the performance of buildings and we will work closely with industry to develop the code to ensure it sets best practice standards and allows the flexibility needed for generating high quality design."

Party Response: Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Norman Baker said: "I welcome this report. It is right to provide incentives for good environmental practice and the government should be doing much more develop this.

"I am proposing an adjournment debate on Wednesday 19 May, which will call on the government to make more use of economic instruments to encourage environmental improvements.

"It is time for the government to take the environment seriously and ensure it explores all options to encourage people to think green."

Forum Response: National Trust

Tony Burton, director of policy and strategy at the National Trust, said: "This report has made it very clear that the government needs to ensure buildings have higher environmental standards, both through regulation and through public sector procurement.

"With major building programmes in the pipeline it is vital that we establish better environmental standards for all new development.

"It is also encouraging that there is a willingness amongst parts of industry to improve and there are some leading examples around the country. We urge the government to recognise and reward best practice in the industry and raise the rest to the level of the best."

Forum Response: Construction Products Association

Michael Ankers, chief executive of the Construction Products Association, said:“The Construction Products Association welcomes the report of the Sustainable Buildings Task Group, Better Buildings – Better Lives. The construction products that are used in our buildings have a key part to play in delivering the higher standards that the report sets down and we look forward to making a substantial input to the proposed Code of Sustainable Building.

“Whilst more demanding Building Regulations can help ensure our future buildings are more sustainable, it is a more difficult challenge to improve the energy and water efficiency in the existing stock, and we must look to government to help stimulate improvements here through tax and other incentives.”