§ Mr. David Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the number of different questionnaires sent out by his Department and agencies responsible to it to companies and self-employed business people; and how many of each sort were sent out for the most recent year for which information is available.
336W(c) privately rented housing he estimates to be without the minimum insulation against heat loss.
§ Dr. John A. CunninghamCurrent building regulations prescribe that new houses should have at least 2 in. of loft insulation or its equivalent; an overall value for the insulating properties of walls, including windows, is also set. These are minimum standards, and judged to be the economic level of insulation when a house is heated only to a modest standard. For higher standards of heating, for example, houses with central heating, higher insulation standards can be economically justified. The Department of Energy has recommended that 3 in. of roof insulation together with adequate draught proofing would be a sensible economic minimum.
The breakdown of loft insulation for houses in Great Britain with accessible lofts, in December 1976, as reported by Audits of Great Britain Limited, was as follows:
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonI am advised that my Department sent out 20 different questionnaires, including statistical forms, to companies during 1976. None was sent to self-employed people. A total of approximately 1,750 questionnaires were sent out during that period. Information is not available within my Department in respect of questionnaires issued by the energy nationalised industries.