§ Lord Coleraineasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proposals they have to amend Part L of the Building Regulations 1991 to encourage the conservation of fuel and power.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Strathclyde)We are today issuing a consultation paper setting out proposals for strengthening the requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations 1991 for the conservation of fuel and power. The aim is to reduce the CO2 emissions from buildings by incorporating cost effective measures, but to do so in a way which does not introduce unacceptable technical risks and maintains some flexibility for designers. We estimate that adoption of these proposals would improve the energy performance of space and water heating in houses by some 25% to 35% compared with current building regulations standards, with similar improvements in the non-domestic sector. Among the proposals is one to require an energy rating for all new dwellings and house conversions. This would be a major step forward in increasing energy awareness among house buyers.