Examination of Witnesses (Questions 340
- 355)
WEDNESDAY 7 JULY 2004
MR JOHN
SLAUGHTER, MR
ANDREW WHITAKER
AND MR
IAN HORNBY
Q340 Chairman: Do you not think that
you should?
Mr Whitaker: Well, given that
the Building Regulations meet the minimum of the EcoHomes "pass"
then 100% of our houses are built in accordance with the minimum
Building Regulations.
Mr Slaughter: I do not think that
covers the whole of the EcoHomes standard, does it?
Q341 Paul Flynn: What do you think
of the EcoHomes standard, having the various grades of "good"
and "pass" and so forth? Are they of any value, or are
you just building to a minimum standards?
Mr Slaughter: I think they are
of value and obviously they have been used in a number of high
profile projects, different levels of these standards, and that
has been an interesting experience for all those who have been
involved.
Q342 Paul Flynn: Do you want to see
the standards changed, improved? Do you agree with Countryside
about incorporating the standards into the Building Regulations?
Mr Slaughter: Yes.
Q343 Paul Flynn: What do you think
of the prospect of a code for sustainable buildings?
Mr Slaughter: We certainly agree
with Countryside on the issue of Building Regulations building
better standards into those progressively.
Q344 Paul Flynn: How would that change
the way the industry works if that did happen?
Mr Slaughter: Well, you are raising
the minimum standards essentially because that is the regulatory
requirement and we have no problem with that. To be positive,
we have absolutely no problem with progressive improvements in
Building Regulations, but there are obviously issues about how
far and fast you can take it given other considerations. Another
point that is worth making is that Building Regulations in one
area can potentially conflict with Building Regulation requirements
in other areas, so there are not necessarily straightforward processes
here. You have to look at the interactions between one area of
regulation and another area of regulation.
Q345 Paul Flynn: We had some figure
from Countryside about how many of their houses reached the "good"
and the "pass" standards. I presume that would be superior
to the standards reached by your members?
Mr Slaughter: Well, I could not
comment either way because we just do not have the information.
Mr Whitaker: Certainly Countryside
could be seen as leaders, but that is not to say that the rest
of the industry are not followers and that they will get there,
if they are not already there. You could have picked any number
of our members and had them at this table and they would have
given you a similar story about how they are addressing sustainable
communities, building more sustainable homes. So I would want
to defend the industry quite vigorously on that.
Q346 Mr Chaytor: Just pursuing that
point, are there any of your members who have identified a real
niche in the market for EcoHomes and have decided that their market
will pay a small premium to get a low emission home or a home
that will have far reduced energy costs over a twenty year period?
Are there any companies positively branding themselves in this
way or not?
Mr Slaughter: I do not think necessarily
across the board. Certainly a number of companies are doing this
on maybe a smaller scale basis, testing the market if you like.
Q347 Mr Chaytor: Just one other point,
if I may, on the question of the Building Regulations and the
compliance with the minimum Building Regulations, are you confident
that all new developments do comply with Building Regulations,
because there is a difference between the existence of Building
Regulations and the compliance with Building Regulations and given
there is virtually a zero inspection regime—
Mr Hornby: We are as confident
as we can be.
Q348 Mr Chaytor: What does that mean?
Mr Hornby: It is down to building
control on site, the inspection.
Q349 Mr Chaytor: Broadly, what would
your estimate be of the percentage accuracy of compliance with
Building Regulations in new developments? Are we talking 80, 90%?
Mr Hornby: I would have to say
100.
Q350 Mr Chaytor: You would have to
say 100?
Mr Hornby: Yes.
Q351 Mr Chaytor: But you would not
really believe it?
Mr Hornby: I think I would, knowing
the site system, the approving inspectors, yes. Well, that is
my opinion anyway.
Q352 Joan Walley: I would be interested
to know what kinds of discussions, debates you have with your
members on the issue that Mr Chaytor has just raised, because
whatever the standards are that are being met some of the evidence
that has been given to us is that if you have workers on site
who are not trained then you can have all the standards but if
they are not building adequately then you have not got those standards
embedded in the house. Is that something you have discussed? Is
that something that you have reviewed, that you are researching,
that you are monitoring?
Mr Hornby: Well, as I say, we
have the approved inspector inspecting the properties generally
for compliance with Building Regulations and more often than not
the NHBC and Zurich are doing their inspections for the warranty
provision as well. So there are several pairs of eyes on site
looking at what is being built.
Q353 Joan Walley: But you deal with
it just through your ordinary compliance? It is not something
that you have discussions about, saying, "Goodness, you know,
even though we are supposed to be meeting these standards it's
been brought to our attention that that's not being done"?
Is it not something that you are discussing?
Mr Slaughter: No, because the
evidence is not coming back to us and we are not an inspector—
Q354 Joan Walley: How would you get
that evidence?
Mr Slaughter: It would come from
the other bodies that my colleague just mentioned. We are not
an inspection body, so we would be reliant upon those other bodies
telling us if there was a problem and then of course we would
discuss it. But they are not telling us that there is a problem.
Q355 Joan Walley: So you wait to
be told if there is a problem and then you would discuss it?
Mr Slaughter: Well, we talk to
the other bodies anyway, but we have to assume that if there was
a problem they would tell us.
Mr Whitaker: We are not the regulatory
body for the inspecting of new homes.
Joan Walley: No, I understand that.
Chairman: All right. Thank you very much
indeed for your time.
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