We currently have no plans to set a specific target date for improving the SAP ratings of these homes, as we have existing policies and programmes which are successfully raising levels of domestic energy efficiency throughout England.
The Government are committed to meeting its statutory requirement of eradicating fuel poverty in the households of vulnerable people by 2010 and in all households across England by 2016. To date 1.4 million households have received help in making their home more energy efficient, through the "Warm Front" programme.
Additionally, the decent homes standard requires homes to have both efficient heating and effective insulation. Since 1997 we have reduced the number of non-decent social sector homes by over 1 million, with over 700,000 council homes receiving work to improve their central heating and over 600,000 local authority dwellings receiving work to improve their insulation.
We have increased the proportion of vulnerable households in the private sector who live in decent homes to 66 per cent., up from 43 per cent. in 1996.