My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Iain Wright) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I have today laid before the House regulations that amend Part G of the building regulations addressing sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency.

These amendments follow a wide reaching review of Part G of the building regulations and consultation on the detailed proposals in May last year and in the earlier consultation in December 2006 on the water efficiency for new buildings element.

The main changes are:

delivering on the commitment we made in July 2007 to introduce into the building regulations for the first time a water efficiency standard of 125 litres per person per day for new homes;

introducing a requirement that baths in new homes are fitted with protective measures, such as a thermostatic mixing valve, to limit the temperature of the hot water, thereby helping to reduce the number of scalding injuries there are each year;

introducing amendments to the existing provisions on hot water systems so that they apply to all such systems. The legislation and guidance also introduces additional controls to ensure hot water systems are able to resist the effects of temperature and pressure during normal operation and in the event of malfunction and are adequately supported; and

amending the existing requirements on the provision of cold water to specify the delivery of wholesome water to key appliances and to clarify where grey water and harvested rainwater can be safely used.

Copies of the approved document have been placed in the House Library. This document will shortly be notified to the European Commission under the European standards directive and therefore remains in draft form until we have formal clearance.

In addition, we are also today publishing the Water Efficiency Calculator for New Dwellings that will be used to estimate water usage for the purposes of both Part G of the building regulations and for the Code for Sustainable Homes. I have also placed copies of this document in the House Library.

The department will also shortly be inviting bodies to apply for authorisation of competent person schemes to support the amended Part G and the new requirements on water efficiency. It is hoped that any such schemes would be authorised to begin operation on 1 October 2009 to coincide with the coming into effect of these regulations.