§ Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice his Department issues to householders about homes experiencing condensation and about minimum internal temperatures for the maintenance of healthy conditions.
§ Mr. TraceyThe Department published a leaflet in October 1986, "Keep Your Home Free from Mould and Damp", containing guidance to householders on how to deal with condensation and mould. The leaflet does not contain any advice about minimum internal temperatures but does suggest, as one of the measures for combating condensation, the maintenance of low background heat all day.
753W
§ Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to make it mandatory for new houses to require the installation of a heating system.
§ Mr. TraceyNo.
§ Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department holds on (i) the proportion of all homes in England which have central heating and (ii) the proportion of homes in England which have central heating when all the occupants are over 65 years of age.
§ Mr. TraceyThe latest information is from the 1984 general household survey. Figures for elderly households that are readily available are for households with two adults, one or both aged 60 or over and for households of one person aged 60 or over. The survey shows that:
- (i) 67 per cent. of all households in England have central heating.
- (ii) 61 per cent. of elderly households in England have central heating.
§ Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue guidance to local planning authorities to ensure adequate sound insulation is incorporated in the party walls/floors of flat conversions.
§ Mr. John PattenI shall write to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how the present British building regulations 1982 compare with similar provisions on insulation in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, West Germany, France, Austria, Eire and the Netherlands.
§ Mr. TraceyInformation on the thermal insulation standards for the roof, walls and floors of new dwellings in various countries is included in the following table. In comparing standards, account should be taken of the internal temperatures and external weather conditions found in different countries. The requirements of the building regulations in this country are being reviewed and on 11 December the Department issued a consultative document including proposals to upgrade the standards for the conservation of fuel and power.
The measure of heat loss through the roof/wall/floor Walls per metre squared degrees celcius Country Roof Wall Floor United Kingdom1 0.35 0.6 20.6 Austria 0.30 0.7–0.5 0.6–0.43 Denmark 0.20 0.35–0.3 0.30 Republic of Ireland 0.4 0.6 0.6 Finland 0.22 0.28 0.36 France 30.32 30.54 31.0 West Germany 0.30 41.2 0.55 Netherlands 30.68 30.68 30.68 Norway 0.23 0.35–0.25 0.3–0.23 Sweden 0.2–0.12 0.3–0.17 0.3–0.17 1 The requirements are similar in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 2 For intermediate floors exposed on underside. 3 Derived from requirement for total thermal loss of building as a whole in selected regions. 4 Average for walls and windows.