§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he is satisfied with the standards and frequency of inspection of gas appliances and with the standard of their installation.
§ Mr. John Moore:The installation of gas appliances is dealt with in the Gas Safety Regulations 1972. A person installing a gas appliance has to be "a competent person" and has to comply with those regulations. Any person failing to comply with the regulations is liable to prosecution. After installation the responsibility for ensuring that appliances are inspected and serviced rests with the consumer. Any person who knowingly uses or permits the use of an unsafe appliance also commits an offence against those regulations.
Under the Gas Safety (Rights of Entry) Regulations 1976 authorised officers of the British Gas Corporation have a right to enter customers' premises to examine gas appliances for the purpose of ensuring that the Gas Safety Regulations have been complied with, and, subject to a right of appeal, such an officer may disconnect an 344W appliance if he considers it necessary to do so to avert danger to life or property. Except in an emergency, this right of entry is only exercisable with the consent of the customer or pursuant to a magistrate's warrant, the issue of which could only be justified if public safety were at risk. I believe that the above procedures are satisfactory.