§ Lord Ezraasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they propose to make it a requirement that home surveys for mortgage purposes shall include energy efficiency audits.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)My Lords, the Government's recent housing Green Paper describes our proposals for reform to the home-buying and selling process in England and Wales. Under these proposals, people marketing homes for sale would provide a pack of standard information for potential buyers, including an energy efficiency survey. We have also given our support to a Private Members' Bill sponsored by the honourable Member for Eltham, Clive Efford. That Bill includes a requirement for mortgage lenders to provide borrowers with information on energy efficiency, and on possible measures for improvement, as part of the inspections they carry out for mortgage valuation purposes.
§ Lord EzraMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that constructive response to my Question. May I remind him that it was back in 1996 that I introduced a Bill in this House to include energy audits in mortgage surveys and that, subsequently, Bills were introduced in the other place, notably by my honourable friend John Burnett and then, as the Minister mentioned, taken up by Mr Clive Efford? However, these Private Members' Bills have been running into considerable difficulties. Therefore, if Mr Efford's Bill does not get through, can the noble Lord say whether the Government would contemplate introducing such a measure in legislation of their own?
§ Lord WhittyMy Lords, I share the noble Lord's concern that Private Members' initiatives on this front have run into the sand and, in most cases, the rather specific sand of objections of two Members of Her Majesty's Opposition in another place. If Clive Efford's Bill does not proceed, clearly we would contemplate similar measures for inclusion in any future housing legislation, which will be required by the Green Paper in any event. I cannot pre-empt the Queen's Speech, but we would certainly consider this for inclusion.
§ Lord GeddesMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that, to the best of my knowledge, it is mandatory in Denmark to have such energy efficiency surveys and results, and that it has made a marked difference—indeed, an improvement—in the efficiency of houses in Denmark and, therefore, a significant reduction in the consumption of energy?
§ Lord WhittyYes, my Lords. We are aware of the Danish procedure in this respect. The procedure that is now being proposed would, to some extent, follow it. At present, we are piloting this idea with home buyers in the Bristol area to see how they would respond to suggestions for improving home efficiency that are included in such surveys. The exact form of any legislation would obviously need to take that into account. It is most important because domestic emissions of carbon account for about one-quarter of total emissions, and we need to tackle this problem through a variety of home efficiency measures.
§ Lord Brabazon of TaraMy Lords, can the Minister say who will carry out these energy efficiency audits and how much they will cost the average home buyer?
§ Lord WhittyMy Lords, one would need to employ a surveyor. Whether or not the responsibility rests on the vendor or on the borrower, figures for the actual carrying out of the surveys would be worked out by surveyors who would then apply their findings through systems developed by the four designated companies which provide such information and which are recognised and accredited by the Government.
§ Baroness Gardner of ParkesMy Lords, can the Minister say in what form these energy results will be published? Further, is the noble Lord aware that appliances such as refrigerators are designated A, B or D, but there is no indication as to which is the better category? Unless there is a straight percentage for energy efficiency, will the Minister ensure that some indication of the meaning of each code is also published?
§ Lord WhittyMy Lords, in my experience white goods are labelled fairly clearly. Indeed, this is one of the success stories. However, I suppose that some consumers will require a little explanation even for that straightforward information. It is, of course, more complicated in relation to housing because so many different aspects have to be taken into account. But the 815 survey will produce a points system that will need explanation. It will also include an indication of the return—the number of years in which your money would be "paid back"—for each of the individual items that the surveyor identifies. I should say here that it is possible that I missed one of the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Brabazon, in this respect. I am saying that this will be part of the normal survey that will be carried out as part of any house purchase.