§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of houses in the Craven District of North Yorkshire which have been made radon proof since the publication of the latest guidance on the subject by his Department. [21106]
§ Angela EagleWithin the area covered by Craven District Council, 330 householders have applied to have a measurement under the Government's radon measurement programme and of those 29 have been found to be above the recommended "Action Level".
There is no obligation on householders to inform the Government when they have carried out radon remedial works. My Department does not, therefore, hold statistics concerning the number of owners of existing dwellings who have taken radon remedial action in any given area. However, research indicates that between 11 and 18 per cent. of householders in England as a whole, who have homes above the radon Action Level have so far taken some remedial action.
Building Regulations are used to address potential radon problems in new dwellings. New guidance has been drafted to take into account areas newly identified in May 1996 as being affected by elevated radon levels. The draft guidance sets out both the areas where protective measures to prevent radon entering should apply and what those measures should be. It was subject to a public consultation, which ended in May 1997. The guidance will be issued shortly. Although there are currently no formal requirements to apply radon protective measures to new dwellings Craven, we are aware that they are being adopted on a voluntary basis.