§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and th Regions what changes792W were made to BS 5422 on thermal insulation of pipes after the Rio Earth Summit; and what assessment hehas made of its compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations 1991. [94886]
§ Ms Beverley HughesChanges to British Standards are a matter for the British Standards Institute and its technical committees. I am aware however that BS 5422 is currently being revised to incorporate among other things a new method of assessing appropriate insulation thicknesses that takes account of environmental issues.
BS 5422 is referenced in the Approved Document which supports Part L of the Building Regulations. This too is currently under review. During the course of the review we shall be examining whether standards of insulation applied to vessels, pipes and ducts should be increased, and also whether the reference to the revised BS 5422 is still appropriate.