Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure consistently high standards in (a) approval processes and (b) testing for appliances or ranges of appliances before they can receive an exemption to burn unauthorised fuel in Smoke Control Areas.

The testing of exempt appliances for use in Smoke Control Areas is carried out by an external contractor. Defra requires regular progress reports and reviews the mechanism and monitors the contractor’s performance to ensure standards are maintained.