Summary  4

What are the risks?  4

What is the government doing?  4

Progress and scrutiny  5

1 What are the risks from heatwaves?  6

1.1 What are heatwaves?  6

1.2 Why might heatwaves become more common in the UK?  7

1.3 Why are heatwaves more oppressive in the UK than in other places?  7

1.4 What are the main risks?  8

2 UK Government policy  11

2.1 Immediate response  13

2.2 Longer-term response  13

3 Progress and scrutiny  16

3.1 Climate Change Committee  16

3.2 Parliamentary scrutiny  17

3.3 Wider stakeholder commentary  19

4 Further reading  22

4.1 Parliamentary research and scrutiny publications  22

4.2 Government publications  23

4.3 Wider publications  23