To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government is taking to remedy the two million properties that the English House Condition Survey 2005 identifies as having an energy efficiency rating below SAP 30. (143693)

Existing policies and programmes have seen the proportion of homes with an energy efficiency rating of SAP30 or below fall from 17 per cent. of the total housing stock in 1996 to 10 per cent. (2.2 million homes) in 2005.

Programmes such as Warm Front, Decent Homes and the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) continue to deliver energy efficiency improvements in homes. Over the period from 1996 to 2005, there has been a doubling of the number of properties with insulated cavity walls and a 19 per cent. rise in the number of homes using gas central heating.

We are currently consulting on proposals for a new Carbon Emissions Reduction Target that would double the activity under the existing EEC programme from 2008-11.