Skip to main content

Housing: Energy

Volume 457: debated on Monday 5 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to increase the number of private landlords introducing energy efficiency schemes. (122353)

The Government have put systems and incentives in place to increase energy efficiency in the private rented sector. The landlords energy saving allowance provides tax allowances for landlords who implement energy efficiency measures in their rented properties. The energy efficiency commitment and Warm Front schemes also encourage private landlords to take up energy efficiency measures.

When they are introduced, energy performance certificates will also provide landlords with information on what measures that they can take to raise the energy performance of their properties and the carbon emissions that they will save.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2007, Official Report, column 1W, on energy performance certificates, whether she expects their cost to vary according to the size of a domestic property. (124367)

The price of energy performance certificates will be set by the market and not by Government. This is likely to vary according to a number of factors, including the size of a domestic property, as this will affect the amount of time taken on site to carry out an assessment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect on (a) energy efficiency and (b) carbon emissions of using electric heating twinned with microgeneration in new building developments. (124462)

The regulatory impact assessment accompanying the changes to part L of the Building Regulations that came into operation in April 2006 contained assessments of the energy efficiency that would be required by electric heating systems in general to achieve the new standards. No assessment was made of the impact of twinning electric heating with microgeneration but builders are able to choose this approach and my Department has published guidance to help in this.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration she is giving to electric heating as part of requirements to reduce the carbon footprint of new buildings. (124463)

We are consulting on further amending the building regulations energy efficiency requirements in 2010, 2013 and 2016 moving towards our goal of net zero annual carbon emissions from new buildings. Detailed proposals will need to be prepared before any change can be made and in the normal way the electric heating industry and other stakeholders will be consulted before final decisions are made.