§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the report of the Building Research Establishment on the subject of heat metering; and if, in view of its findings, he will now set standards 432W for apportioning meters and issue guidance on the need for adequate heating controls and levels of insulation in dwellings before metering is introduced.
§ Mr. StanleyThis BRE document is an interim assessment of the performance of heat meters following the first stage of a two-part study. The second stage is expected to be completed early next year and a report with a full statistical analysis will then be published on the whole study.
It would be premature to draw general conclusions from the results so far, but the interim assessment has been sent to the local authority associations. The associations will also be informed of the final outcome of the study, since it will be for local authorities, as operators of district heating systems, to consider the application of BRE's findings to their own particular circumstances.
In the context of energy conservation, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy issues information and advice on, among other things, heating controls and levels of insulation, and I am at present consulting interested parties on proposals to increase the level of insulation required in new buildings by the building regulations.