Concrete Flues (Hansard, 1 November 2000)

§ Ms Beverley Hughes

Last year the Government were made aware of concerns about the safety of certain flue liners which are intended for use in chimneys serving appliances burning solid fuel. The Minister for Housing and Planning made an announcement about this on 24 February 1999. To resolve these concerns my Department commissioned a risk analysis, and has considered with experts what may need to be done about existing houses and what amendments might be necessary to improve the Building Regulations approved guidance. This report was published today, and can be viewed on the DETR Website at www.construction.detr.gov.uk/bribr06.htm

The Department's risk analyst contractor CRE Group Ltd. has been unable to show conclusively that the concerns over additional danger are well founded. As well as this, neither my Department nor the two principal housing warranty providers are aware of any fatal or other accidents that have arisen as a result of the failure of the sorts of concrete flue liners whose safety has been questioned. On the evidence that the experts have produced it therefore seems reasonable to believe that householders are unlikely to be exposed to additional dangers if they apply common sense in following combustion appliance manufacturers' advice on routine maintenance and chimney sweeping.

There remain some doubts however about the durability of poorer quality, cheaper varieties of concrete flue liners, and owners of dwellings built since about 1990 with concrete flue liners may be faced with the need for repairs or replacements sooner than they might have expected. This should not be a risk to safety unless householders fail to carry out the proper maintenance and sweeping previously mentioned.

Whilst not finding clear evidence of additional risks, CRE Group Ltd, has made a number of useful recommendations regarding the safety of flues in general. They include improvement of the performance standards given in the Building Regulations, improving the competence of those engaged in building, maintaining and sweeping chimneys, remaining alert to the possibility of clusters of flue failures, and reminding those householders 461W who burn solid fuel as their main heating source that proper appliance maintenance and chimney sweeping are essential. Most of the recommendations are accepted in principle, and my Department will be working with the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, the DTI, and with the fuel suppliers, chimney component manufacturers and chimney engineers and sweeps to implement them as soon as practical by: incorporating new guidance into the Building Regulations. A new edition of the relevant Building Regulations Approved Document should be published next year and I am pleased to see that some manufacturers of concrete flue blocks have already adopted the new overall performance standards that we intend to propose in the Approved Document. continuing to promote both the Quality Mark and the proposals to recognise Competent Persons in the Building Regulations as ways of encouraging builders, oil and solid fuel heating engineers, chimney engineers and sweeps to improve the competence of their people. Changes in the guidance mentioned above will also encourage greater competence in ensuring the safe accommodation of combustion installations. collaborating with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Home Office to ensure that local authorities and fire brigades are fully briefed on the hazards associated with combustion installations in buildings, the risks of householders' exposure to them, and what they can do to remind householders about how to protect themselves. A new tool kit for this purpose was launched on 12 October by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs. working with appropriate trade associations to ensure appliance manufacturers and solid fuel suppliers and their retail outlets provide satisfactory safe operating and maintenance advice to their customers. working with appropriate trade associations to ensure that chimney engineers and sweeps are aware of the possible additional risks associated with concrete chimney liners, and to watch out for the possibility that individual failures may be an indication that other flues in the neighbourhood may be at risk. I have asked to be kept informed about such clusters. most importantly, working with the above organisations and others to make sure that our leaflet on the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from solid fuel and oil heating appliances is made available to the sectors of the community that earlier research has shown to be most at risk. The leaflet advises on the dangers that can arise in normal use of solid fuel and oil heating appliances and prudent maintenance and sweeping measures that prevent them from occurring.