Further supplementary memorandum from
the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
RESPONSE TO
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
FROM THE
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE
FOLLOWING THE
ODPM'S ORAL
EVIDENCE SESSION,
7 JULY 2004
1. Membership and remit of the group or groups
set up to determine the Government's response to the recommendations
of the Barker Review; when are they due to report?
As indicated in my recent note to the Chairman,
oversight of the various workstreams being taken forward in response
to the Barker Review of Housing Supply is undertaken by a Steering
Group comprising officials from this Office, the Treasury, No
10 and the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit.
Individual workstreams are taken forward by
relevant officials in this Office and the Treasury, with regular
updates provided to the steering group. The Interdepartmental
Working Group on Sustainable Communities, chaired by ODPM, meets
regularly. A technical group has also been established at official
level to address issues related to the Government's response to
the Barker Report. Given the large number of recommendations in
the Barker report, and the differing timescales within which they
need to be addressed, the Government does not propose to publish
a single response. As proposals are developed to address specific
recommendations, they will be subject to consultation in the normal
way. The overall aim is to involve key stakeholders closely throughout
and to ensure that there is plenty of opportunity for different
views to be heard. This will normally be through formal consultation
exercises, supplemented by less formal involvement of key stakeholders
in, for example, discussions, workshops and seminars on particular
topics.
Combining the various streams of work, the forward
programme for the next 12 to 18 months can be summarised as follows;
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Timing | Programme
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July to September 2004
| Announcement of Spending Review decisions
Publication of consultation paper on integrated regional arrangements for housing and planning strategies and for independent advice
Research commissioned to develop a methodology for defining a national market affordability goal and indicative regional targets
Publication of revised PSA5 Technical Note, including proposed indicators of market affordability
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October to December 2004 | Revised draft circular on planning obligations (s106 agreements) published.
Defra and ODPM are currently considering the terms of reference for a joint research project into the implications of additional housing supply for sustainable communities.
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January to April 2005 | New arrangements for Regional Housing Boards/Regional Planning Bodies and for independent advice announced
Consultation on new draft PPG3, responding to Barker recommendations
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May 2005 to December 2005 | Existing Regional Housing Boards present regional housing strategies to Ministers, then begin to move to new regional arrangements
Government sets up new arrangements for offering independent advice on housing numbers
Reports of research into methodology for affordability goal published
Consultation on draft national affordability goal and indicative regional targets
Government publishes national market affordability goal and indicative regional targets.
Government reaches conclusion on proposal for Planning-gain Supplement (with associated changes to s106)
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2. Why were no representatives of the Buildings Research Establishment
or the House Builders Federation invited onto the Task Group by
the Secretary of State?
The Sustainable Buildings Task Group was established by the
Secretaries of State for ODPM, DTI and Defra following the Better
Building Summit in October 2003. Rather than a research based
or technical working group, its purpose was to bring in fresh
ideas and thinking, in particular from parties which have a crucial
role in driving forward the concept of sustainable buildings,
but which are not seen by some as central to the construction
industry.
With a potentially wide agenda, there was also a risk that
this Group could get too broad and consequently lose focus. It
was therefore felt to be important that the Task Group itself
should be of a compact size to allow for detailed debate. This
however meant that not all who expressed an interest could be
included in the main group. It was agreed between the Departments
that around 14 people should be identified who were able to bring
expertise on the following priority interests:
Volume House Builder
Developer
Housing Corporation
Building Services
Building Fabric
Architect/Designer
Trade Union
Energy
Water
Waste
Timber
Construction Industry
Local Authority
Voluntary Sector (Environmental)
Government
Although HBF were not represented directly we ensured that
the House Building Industry were represented. BRE were actively
involved at several stages throughout this process, and made some
excellent contributions. We are now in discussion with the HBF
and BRE about how best to build industry involvement in the following
stages of this work.
3. What work is being carried out to take forward the recommendations
of the Sustainable Buildings Task Group?
Government set out, in its formal response to the Sustainable
Buildings Task Group report (July 2004), details of how it proposed
to take a number of the recommendations forward. We are already
taking action on a number of these, for instance:
We are currently working to set up a project group
to develop a Code for Sustainable Buildings. We have also committed
resources to establish demonstrations of the Code across the Thames
Gateway and in other locations. This would be a significant step
towards setting a level playing field for industry in ensuring
improved environmental performance in building projects.
As part of a wider review of planning and building
regulations, some of which is already underway, we will be considering
the Task Group's recommendations and in some cases have been able
to commit to taking them forward more precisely.
There were also a number of recommendations for which further
economic analysis and Regulatory Impact Assessments have to be
undertaken before we are able to commit to anything. These will
be completed at the earliest opportunity.
4. What is the timetable the Government is working to when
it comes to including the range of recommendations of the Task
Group into the Building Regulations?
Timetables for the review of various parts of the building
regulations are staggered and as such it is not possible to say
definitively when all of the Task Group's recommendations which
apply to Building Regulations could be implemented. There are
also various prior stages which must be completed, eg research,
consultation, amendments, Regulatory Impact Assessments.
In relation to the following recommendations made by the
Sustainable Buildings Task Group which relate to Building Regulations
the estimated time frames are:
Taking forward the Sustainable and Secure Buildings
BillThe Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill has now
passed through all its stages and awaits Royal assent which is
expected in September. The provisions, which are almost all enabling
ones, will then be available for use.
Specifying in building regulations at least
10% of re-used, reclaimed & recycled materials in building
projectsWe expect to consult on proposals during 2005.
We would need to carry out research on feasibility and also a
Regulatory Impact Assessment. If we were to take such proposals
forward standards and assessment procedures would be needed to
rate the suitability of materials. Given this research need it
is unlikely that regulations for re-used materials would come
into effect until 2006-07. Powers under the Sustainable and Secure
Buildings Bill will be available to deal with the re-use and recycling
of building materials even where the re-used or recycled products
are to be used elsewhere than in building projects.
The Government should enshrine in regulation
by 2005 a 25% saving on average per capita water consumptionProposals
will be developed in detail by the end of 2005. We are not yet
able to say when might come into force. Implementation takes 9
to 18 months after consultation depending on the complexity of
the issues involved. Any measures that involve innovative products
may require an extended implementation period in order to allow
manufacturers enough time to bring products to market.
The Government should enshrine in regulation
by 2005 a 25% energy efficiency improvement under Part LWe
are currently working on this and proposals that would raise the
performance standards for new buildings by around 25% were published
for consultation on 21 July 2004. If all goes well we propose
to bring the proposed changes into effect, taking account of consultees'
views, by the end of 2005. This is in line with the commitment
in the Energy White Paper
The Government should enshrine in regulation
by 2005 provision of space for the separate collection of recyclable
materials in multi-occupancy buildingsDEFRA are currently
consulting on the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003. Any changes
needed are likely to take two to three years. The Sustainable
and Secure Buildings Bill contains a provision to allow building
regulations to deal with space for recyclable materials; again
this would take a minimum of two years to go through the full
consultation processes, Building Regulations Advisory Committee
and a Regulatory Impact Assessment.
There should be tighter minimum standards for
the use of water fittings and appliancesProposals will
be developed in detail by the end of 2005. We are not yet able
to say when might come into force. However, the implementation
period will have to accommodate lead times for manufacturers to
change their products
Building Regulations should require modern
standards of flood resistance and resilience for all construction
within areas of flood riskFollowing the normal round
of research, consultation, amendment etc., this could take three
to four years.
The enforcement of building regulations should be reviewed
In line with the commitment in the Energy White Paper we
are already in the process of reviewing the enforcement of the
energy efficiency provisions. As part of this we are investigating
how the expansion of the self certification scheme initiatives
giving more responsibility to appropriately qualified building
and building services contractors could enforcement. Ministers
have also asked for a more general review of the enforcement procedures
applying to all aspects of the Building Regulations.
Two provisions in the Sustainable and Secure Building Act,
which will receive Royal Assent in September 2004, will also help
encourage greater compliance with the requirements of the Building
Regulations:
(i) Regulations may be made to require the appointment
of a person on a site to be responsible for ensuring that the
work of all contractors on the site complies with the Building
Regulations as it goes along; and/or
(ii) Regulations may be made to require the person carrying
out the work to give to the building control body at the end of
the work a certificate stating that the work fully complies with
the Building Regulations.
In both cases there is sufficient flexibility in the provisions
to allow them to be differentially targeted. For example, for
particular sizes of work or for particular parts of the building
regulations.
Government should consider further amending Schedule
1 of the Building Regulations, extending their scope to cover
a wider range of sustainability issues when refurbishing the existing
building stock. The Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill currently
before Parliament will enable the full range of sustainability
issues to be addressed in Building Regulations. The Bill has now
passed through all its stages and awaits Royal Assent which is
expected in September. When the Bill becomes law we will be developing
a programme of appropriate regulations. It is not yet possible
to set a timetable for this.
5. What work is being done in the Department or by other
bodies to monitor how effectively Building Regulations are being
complied with, particularly Part L of the regulations? Does the
Department have any figures on compliance?
Enforcement is the responsibility of local authorities and
we do not monitor how effectively the Regulations are being complied
with.
This was an issue raised in the Energy White Paper (para
3.20) and we are committed to work with Local Authorities to improve
enforcement.
It was also raised by the Sustainable Buildings Task Group:
"(3.14) The Government and Local Authorities should review
the enforcement of the Building Regulations to ensure the regulators
have the resource and training to conduct reliable post-completion
checks on a proportion of all new and refurbished buildings."
Our response to that was:
"Government agrees that there are certain issues surrounding
the enforcement of Building Regulations that could be considered
further in order to strengthen and ensure correct implementation
of the Regulations. The Energy White Paper makes it clear that
Building Regulations play an important role in delivering improvements
in energy efficiency. The consultation currently underway on aspects
of Building Regulations includes consideration of enforcement
issues."
6. Levels of Government funding over the last 10 years
for research into construction methods by Government
Because of Machinery of Government changes and changes to
the definitions of the terms used, a full and detailed answer
to this question could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
However every effort has been made to provide as much information
as is currently available.
Estimates of UK expenditure into research into the built
environment shows a range between £50-70 million per annum
over the last 10 years. The most recent mapping exercise into
funding for research into the built environment, carried out in
2004 by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
(CABE) and New Construction Research and Innovation Strategy Panel
(nCRISP), indicates that current UK expenditure is estimated at
approximately £53 million pa, based upon the CABE/nCRISP
definition of built environment.
This includes both "hard" built environment research
(construction, building) and "soft" built environment
research (design, social/user). The mapping covers key funders
in the sector (including Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC), ODPM, DTI, Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC), DCMS, and Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
Of this total spend, the approximate split between `hard'
built environment research (the construction end) and "soft"
built environment research (the design end) is 65/35. Within this
EPSRC have awarded around £2 5million pa in construction
research grants with a similar sum being invested in research
programmes directly relevant to construction (including Modern
Methods of Construction) such as Innovative Manufacturing. Around
£15-18 million funding pa has been from the DTI (formerly
DETR) Construction Research Programme, chiefly through the Partners
in Innovation scheme and the post privatisation research framework
agreement with the Building Research Establishment. Both schemes
closed to new applications in 2002. ODPM funding accounts for
approximately £16 million, covering research on "hard"
issues such as building regulation and "soft" issues,
such as design and social impacts.
The detailed content of the programme is determined by research
strategies that are reviewed annually with the assistance of stakeholders
on the Building Regulations Research Advisory Group. This is an
invited body which is made up of representatives from all parts
of the industry including design, research, building control,
builders and suppliers plus the National House Building Council,
the Housing Corporation and other departments such as Health and
Safety Executive (HSE).
Key drivers include: the need to fill gaps in the evidence
needed to justify (mainly technical) policy change on building
regulation, and for broader policy objectives (such as the Energy
and Fire White Papers); and the need to keep pace with market,
EU and global developments etc.
RELATED QUESTIONS:
What proportion of this (government funding into research in
construction methods) has been allocated to research into sustainable
construction methods and materials?
Because of the varying definitions of sustainable construction,
a full and detailed answer to this question could only be obtained
at disproportionate cost. However all projects entering the DTI
research portfolio have had to show a direct impact on either
the social, environmental or economic drivers of sustainable construction.
It is estimated that around a quarter of the DTI research spend
(£4-5 million pa) has been directed towards research projects
with Sustainable methods or materials as their primary driver.
Within ODPM, the most pertinent programme is the research
and technical support funded through our Buildings Division. This
underpins the development of building regulations by ensuring
they are formulated on a sound scientific and evidential basis.
Improving buildings regulations has a consequent positive impact
on sustainability. This research is commissioned under five framework
contracts, and has a 2004-05 budget in the order of £5 million.
What level of this has been allocated to looking at the environmental
implications and whole life costs of increasing the use of Modern
Methods of Construction?
This is largely depends on how Modern Methods of Construction
are defined. The DTI has provided around £1.5 million funding
over the last five years directly examining the development and
impacts of off-site production, prefabrication and manufactured
building elements, chiefly through LINK research projects dual
funded with EPSRCs Meeting Clients needs through standardisation
programme. Over a similar period £3.7 million has spent examining
whole life issues and costs in construction.
To what bodies has funding being allocated?
A considerable proportion of the DTI and ODPM research spend
has been allocated to the Building Research Establishment under
the terms of their post privatisation research framework. The
construction research associations such as the Construction Industry
Research and Information Association (CIRIA), Timber Research
and Development Association (TRADA) and Building Services Research
& Information Association (BSRIA) have also led a number of
projects, as have Universities such as Loughborough, Reading and
Salford. Private sector companies have also been successful in
winning contracts, for example Faber Maunsell, Balfour Beatty,
Taylor Woodrow and Whitbread.
7. How is the ODPM encouraging the use of higher building
and design standards in the Thames Gateway and other areas?
All new housing developments in the Thames Gateway and other
Growth Areas will be expected to comply with Planning Policy Guidance
Note 1 on "General Policy and Principles". This requires
that "good design should be the aim of all those involved
in the development process and should be encouraged everywhere".
To encourage the use of higher building and design standards
in the Growth Areas, projects that the ODPM is funding in the
Thames Gateway have been selected against thematic objectives.
These include "implementing a consistent policy of quality
design" and "ensuring that the resource demands of new
development are minimised". In particular, projects should
aim to secure significant advances in minimising the additional
demand generated for water, energy and waste disposal. All of
the Thames Gateway projects must also undertake a flood risk assessment
and ensure that the design is compatible with planning guidance
on flood risk.
Funding criteria also state that projects in the other growth
areas are "expected to demonstrate best practice in terms
of conception and design." The promotion of higher building
and design standards is also a key role for local delivery vehicles.
ODPM is funding delivery vehicles in key growth locations to ensure
that the capacity is in place to achieve this.
ODPM has increased funding for CABE, who launched the Growth
Areas Housing Quality Forum in March 2004 to disseminate best
practice on design within the Growth Areas. Major developments
in the Thames Gateway, such as the Greenwich Millennium village,
have already used urban design codes to provide certainty to developers
and the community as to what constitutes acceptable design quality.
We are in the process of identifying other potential sites in
the Gateway to pilot further urban coding schemes.
Is it promoting the use of Building Research Establishment's
Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and EcoHomes for all
developments?
The Housing Corporation promotes EcoHomes for its new social
housing developments. It is recommending that schemes achieve
a EcoHomes rating of "very good" from April 2005 with
the "good" rating as an essential condition of grant.
A number of developments within the Gateway provide good
demonstrations of the use of BREEAM and EcoHomes standards. For
example, the Greenwich Millennium Community has an "excellent"
rating under the EcoHomes system and has targets of an 80% reduction
in primary energy consumption, 30% reduction in water consumption
and 50% reduction in construction waste. Also, the Gallions Ecopark
in Thamesmead comprises 39 dwellings made of timber frames with
argon double glazing, solar water heating, low flush toilets,
spray taps, energy efficient lighting and recycling facilities.
This development also received an "excellent" rating
under EcoHomes. ODPM is promoting these as examples of good practice
for all development. The delivery vehicles that are being established
in the Growth Areas offer an excellent opportunity to encourage
sustainable building design at the local level.
The Government's response to the Sustainable Buildings Task
Group also expressed a commitment to developing a code to establish
higher standards for energy and water efficiency, waste and use
of materials. This will be tested in demonstration schemes in
the Thames Gateway before being rolled-out nationally. The Code
will be a significant step towards setting a level playing field
for industry and, importantly, part of the demonstration process
will be to carry out an economic assessment of the adopted standard.
8. How are the predicted emissions of CO2 from
the construction and lifetime use of the proposed new housing
in the Sustainable Communities plan being incorporated in the
Government's work on meeting target for the 60% reduction in CO2
emissions by 2050?
One of the four goals of the Government's Energy White Paper
published in February 2003 is to cut the UK's CO2 emissions
by some 60% by 2050.
Improvements in building standards are expected to play a
significant part in achieving this, so that by 2010 more than
half the carbon emissions reductions in the existing Climate Change
programmearound 10 MtC per annumcould come from
energy efficiency improvements in households and buildings for
industry, commerce and the public sector.
Further ahead, it is believed that energy efficiency can
contribute around half of the additional 15-25 MtC savings likely
to be needed by 2020.
In order to raise building standards, the Energy White Paper
announced that we would carry out a review of the energy efficiency
provisions in Part L of the Building Regulations, with the aim
of bringing the next major revision into effect in 2005.
We also said we would raise energy efficiency standards over
the next decade learning lessons from the standards set in comparable
European countries; raise boiler standards to Class A/B levelsthe
levels achieved by condensing typesby 1 April 2005; and
seek ways of improving the correlation between design intent and
as-built performance.
The Part L revision work will, for instance, examine what
improvements can be made to the winter and summer performance
standards for building fabric and heating, cooling and lighting
systems, whilst ensuring the Regulations remain technically sound,
proportionate, cost-effective and sufficiently flexible for designers.
The Energy White Paper also announced that ODPM would take
the lead in implementing the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
because Part L of the Building Regulations would be used to implement
many of the requirements.
The Directive aims to promote the introduction of cost-effective
measures to improve the energy performance of both new and existing
buildings, although recognising that the largest potential for
energy savings lies with the existing building stock.
Requirements of the Directive include setting standards for
the energy performance of new and existing buildings; certification
of energy performance so that energy performance can be readily
compared when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out; greater
use of low and zero carbon energy sources; and regular inspection
of boiler and air conditioning systems. The deadline for implementing
the requirements is 4 January 2006.
The review of Part L announced in the Energy White Paper
is now well under wayproposals for revising Part L were
presented to the Building Regulations Advisory Committee on 5
May and we published the consultation package this summer.
The intention is to publish new Part L regulations and Approved
Documents in July 2005 to come into effect by the end of 2005.
Do you acknowledge that the housing built under the Sustainable
Communities Plan together to any further housing proposed as a
result of the Barker Review will make a significant contribution
to emission by 2050?
In principle, every additional house that is built contributes
marginally to total emissions. The 200,000 additional homes we
are currently aiming to secure in the south east will therefore
have an effect, though it will be small by comparison with the
26 million homes which already exist in Great Britain.
The CO2 emissions from the new housing will depend
upon the environmental standards used by the builders at the time
of building. As part of the Sustainable Communities Plan, the
ODPM is encouraging housebuilders to use higher building and design
standards which will lead to a cut in CO2 emissions.
However, the full picture is more complex and less definite.
More homes need to be built to cater not for an increase in population
but to accommodate long term demographic trends; for instance,
for migration between areas, for households to become smaller
and for people to live longer.
The relationship between demographic trends, housing quality
and emissions (and other environmental impacts) is complex. To
the extent that with people moving out of older buildings into
newer homes with better environmental standards, there will be
a net benefit. This is not of course the whole story, but it shows
the dangers of over-simplification. Not all the effects are additional.
How is the ODPM encouraging the use of higher building and
design standards in the Thames Gateway and other areas? Is it
promoting the use of BREEAM and EcoHomes for all developments?
The Government is committed to increasing the standard to
which all publicly funded housing is built, to ensure new housing
is more sustainable:
As of April 2003, all new built homes funded by
the Housing Corporation are required to achieve a BRE EcoHomes
rating of "Pass" as a minimum essential condition of
receiving grant support, and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)
are encouraged to aim for the higher "Good" rating.
The Housing Corporation also encourages RSLs to
adopt higher standards by enhancing the cost criteria by 1-2%
where Ecohomes "Good" certification is obtained in conjunction
with "Secured by Design" certification.
The Housing Corporation intends to increase the
minimum requirement to a "Good" rating from April 2005,
with housing associations encouraged to aim for the higher "Very
Good" rating from the same date.
The Housing Corporation is also promoting the
adoption of sustainable development action plans by housing associations
so that they achieve higher environmental performance standards.
The Housing Corporation published its sustainable
development strategy in April 2003. It is integrating sustainability
principles into its regulatory framework and all its investment
decisions, including as a specific factor in deciding which housing
association developments to fund.
The Corporation will encourage best practice through
the production of guidance, practical tools to assess environmental
impacts and will develop strategies to address them with dissemination
through workshops and seminars.
We are reducing the environmental impact of new housing by
encouraging sustainable construction methods and improving the
design of buildings. Through the Millennium Communities programme,
English Partnerships are working closely with organisations within
the housebuilding industry to demonstrate what can be achieved
within new mixed-developments. Each site will have ecological
and environmental strategies and aim to incorporate good public
transport links, innovation in building technology, energy efficiency.
We have also given the green light to the Sustainable Buildings
Code in our response to the Sustainable Buildings Task Group report.
The new code will establish higher standards for energy and water
efficiency, as well as waste and use of materials. We will set
up demonstrations in the Thames Gateway, and elsewhere in the
growth areas to show the industry what can be achieved. We will
take action on the national roll-out of the Code by early 2006.
September 2004
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