§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what standard room temperatures have been recommended by his Department for old people in each season each year since 1979.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe Department's design guidance for newly built local authority residential homes for elderly people issued in 1973 advised that space heating requirements should be calculated on the basis that a temperature of 70 deg. F (21 deg. C) should be maintained during the day in residents' sitting rooms and bed sitting rooms when the outside temperature is 30 deg. F (1 deg. C). Apart from this, there are no recommendations by the Department on standard room temperatures. Our view now is that individual requirements and preferences vary markedly and it would not be possible to specify a particular temperature that would be appropriate in all circumstances.